‘I never believed there could be a tsunami’: Palu tells of survival and loss

Stories of shock and disbelief continue to pour out of the earthquake- and tsunami-hit region in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

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A mosque that was isolated by water after its bridge was destroyed due to the massive earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00am, 6 Oct 2018Updated: 9:00am, 6 Oct 2018

Amirullah, 55, was having a late afternoon nap in his home on Palu bay when the earthquake shook him awake. In the lounge his seven-year-old granddaughter was watching cartoons. She was so close to the screen that the 7.5-magnitude quake caused the television set to crash down on her head.

“I told my wife to grab her and run first, and that I would stay and help my cousin,” said Amirullah, recounting the disasters that hit Palu, on Sulawesi island in Indonesia, last Friday. His cousin, 70, who was experiencing an episode of gout, needed his help.

As the ground continued to shake they managed to reach the car, but it would not start. That was when the first tsunami struck – just five to 10 minutes after the quake hit – sending them up the street in a powerful whoosh and then back toward the house as the water receded into the next massive wave.

Amirullah, tall and fit, grabbed hold of his roof on the slide back and yanked himself and his cousin up on to the tiles.

Maruni, his wife, had jumped into the car of a fleeing stranger, while his 12-year-old nephew, Riswan, who had been praying at Arqam mosque, survived by clinging on to a coconut tree.

Each personal experience would be shared two days later when the family was reunited, but while on the roof Amirullah thought he would never see them again.

He chose the roof because he thought that if he died it would be easier for his wife to find him, rather than “washed up by a tsunami, God knows where”.