The magnitude 7.5 Mw Sulawesi, Indonesia, earthquake occurred on 28 September 2018 at 10:02:43 (UTC). The earthquake epicenter was located about 80 km north of the City of Palu. The earthquake and ensuing tsunamis and liquefaction caused significant destruction in four regions in Central Sulawesi, namely the City of Palu, Donggala, Sigi, and Parigi Moutong.
An estimated 4,340 people were killed in the earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction that struck Central Sulawesi. It is estimated that 1,252 were killed by the tsunami(s), which arrived at high tide. Some assessments, however, claim that most (~80%) casualties were due to the large landslides that were triggered by the earthquake.
Tsunami damage was more severe at the inner part of the eastern side of Palu Bay, compared to the western side, likely due to earthquake subsidence. Agreement does not yet exist as to whether the earthquake-generated tsunami or numerous landslide-generated tsunamis caused the most damage. Inside Palu Bay, tsunami runup heights reached over 10 meters. An estimated total of $1.5 billion U.S. dollars in damage resulted from this event.
(updated July 2020)
