Palu is a chartered city on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, at the mouth of the Palu River. It is the capital of the province of Central Sulawesi, situated on a long, narrow bay. Because of its sheltered position between mountain ridges, the climate is unusually dry. At the 2010 census Palu had a population of 336,532. On 28 September 2018, the city suffered severe damage due to a series of earthquakes followed by a tsunami, resulting in major soil liquefaction and mudflows, which caused many of the surrounding buildings to become submerged. At the 2020 census Palu had a population of 373,218, not including those living in neighbouring regencies.
Events from the year 2007 in Indonesia
The 2009 West Java earthquake occurred on September 2 at 14:55:01 local time in West Java, Indonesia. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed at least 79 people, injured over 1,250, and displaced over 210,000. The quake was felt in the capital Jakarta, although damage there was minimal, and it was Indonesia's deadliest earthquake since the 2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami.
The 2010 Papua earthquake occurred on June 16 at 12:16 local time in Papua province of Indonesia. The magnitude 7.0 mainshock was preceded by an 6.2 foreshock 10 minutes earlier, and was followed 42 minutes later by an Mw 6.6 aftershock.
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred at 14:46 JST on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes, causing a tsunami. It is sometimes known in Japan as the "Great East Japan Earthquake", among other names. The disaster is often referred to in both Japanese and English as simply 3.11.
The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
The 2016 Ecuador earthquake occurred on April 16 at with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The very large thrust earthquake was centered approximately 27 km (17 mi) from the towns of Muisne and Pedernales in a sparsely populated part of the country, and 170 km (110 mi) from the capital Quito, where it was felt strongly. Regions of Manta, Pedernales and Portoviejo accounted for over 75 percent of total casualties. Manta's central commercial shopping district, Tarqui, was completely destroyed. Widespread damage was caused across Manabí Province, with structures hundreds of kilometres from the epicenter collapsing. At least 676 people were killed and 16,600 people injured. President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency; 13,500 military personnel and police officers were dispatched for recovery operations.
On 5 August 2018, a destructive and shallow earthquake measuring Mw 6.9 struck the island of Lombok, Indonesia. It was the main shock following its foreshock, a nearby Mw 6.4 earthquake on 29 July. It was followed by a nearby 6.9 earthquake on 19 August 2018.
On 28 September 2018, a shallow, large earthquake struck in the neck of the Minahasa Peninsula, Indonesia, with its epicentre located in the mountainous Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi. The magnitude 7.5 quake was located 70 km (43 mi) away from the provincial capital Palu and was felt as far away as Samarinda on East Kalimantan and also in Tawau, Malaysia. This event was preceded by a sequence of foreshocks, the largest of which was a magnitude 6.1 tremor that occurred earlier that day.
On 11 October 2018, an earthquake struck off the coast of East Java, Indonesia, with the epicentre located off the coast of Situbondo Regency. The earthquake, which struck at dawn, killed 4 people in addition to destroying or damaging hundreds of houses, mostly in the small island of Sapudi.
On 4 May 2000 at 12:21 WITA, Banggai Islands Regency was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 , followed by a tsunami. The Banggai Islands, an archipelago located at the far eastern end of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was the worst affected by the earthquake. Eighty percent of Banggai's buildings were destroyed. Damage also occurred on Peleng. The earthquake triggered a local tsunami of up to 6 m in height that caused significant damage east of Luwuk on the mainland and on Peleng.
The 2019 North Maluku earthquake, a shallow 7.2 magnitude earthquake, struck the island of Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia on 14 July 2019 at 18:10 local time with its epicentre located at South Halmahera. It struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 mi) near Labuha, a small port town located in Bacan Island. The earthquake produced a non-destructive 20 cm tsunami, which struck Labuha just minutes after the shaking started. 14 people were killed by the earthquake while 129 people were injured, and more than 50,000 people were displaced. The earthquake inflicted a total damage of Rp 238 billion.
On 26 September 2019, a strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Seram Island in Maluku, Indonesia, near the provincial capital of Ambon. The earthquake struck at 07:46:44 Eastern Indonesia Time with a shallow depth of 18 km. The tremor could be felt throughout the island, with an intensity of very strong (VII) reportedly felt in the provincial capital of Ambon.
The 1987 Superstition Hills and Elmore Ranch earthquakes were a pair of earthquakes Mw 6.2 and 6.6 that rattled the Imperial Valley of California. The earthquakes caused damage to places in California and Mexico, and was felt as far as Las Vegas and Phoenix. Both main shocks were larger than the deadly earthquake that struck Los Angeles on October 1, which was a magnitude 5.9.
On January 1, 1996, at 4:05 p.m. Central Indonesia Time, a powerful earthquake with an epicenter in the Makassar Strait struck north of Minahasa on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The earthquake measured 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered off Tolitoli Regency in Central Sulawesi, or 25 km from the Tonggolobibi village. A tsunami of 2 to 4 meters was triggered by this earthquake as a result. This event was larger but far less deadly compared to the Mw 7.5 Sulawesi earthquake in 2018 to the south. At least 350 buildings were badly damaged, nine people died and 63 people were injured.
An earthquake struck Majene Regency in the province of West Sulawesi, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on 15 January 2021, at 02:28 WITA, with a moment magnitude of 6.2. This earthquake was felt as far away as Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, and Palu in Central Sulawesi. Strong shaking was reported in Majene and the provincial capital Mamuju for at least 5–7 seconds. It was preceded by a foreshock measuring 5.7 magnitude a few hours earlier.
The western coast of West Sulawesi was struck by a major earthquake on 23 February 1969 at 00:36 UTC. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a major tsunami that caused significant damage along the coast of the Makassar Strait. At least 64 people were killed, with possibly a further 600 deaths caused by the tsunami.
The 1995 Kerinci earthquake struck near Sungai Penuh in Jambi Province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It earthquake occurred at 01:18 WIB local time on October 7. The earthquake measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale, and 6.9–7.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale. Between 84 and possibly even 100 people were killed in the earthquake. An extimated 4,000 buildings collapsed or were seriously damaged while a further 5,000 suffered some damage.
The 2021 Flores earthquake occurred 112 km, offshore, north of Maumere in the Flores Sea on December 14. The moment magnitude of 7.3 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), occurred just a few days after the anniversary of another quake in the same region; the 1992 Flores earthquake. One person was killed and 97 others suffered injuries.
