The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has jumped to 384, authorities say, with many of those killed swept away by giant waves as they played on the beach.
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Strong aftershocks continued to rock the coastal city on Saturday morning after waves up to 6m high swept through the scenic tourist town on Friday, triggered by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on land.
"When the (tsunami) threat arose yesterday, people were still doing their activities on the beach and did not immediately run and they became victims," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency BNPB said in news briefing in Jakarta.
Hundreds of people were preparing for a beach festival to celebrate Palu's anniversary. The festival was due to start on Friday night.
Some people climbed 6m trees to escape the tsunami and survived, Nugroho said.
Photos confirmed by authorities showed bodies being lined up along the street on Saturday, some in bags and some with their faces covered with clothes.
An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said earlier on Saturday the government was not aware of any Australians affected by the disaster but was continuing to make inquiries with local authorities.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted his condolences, saying he was saddened to hear of the tragic event on Sulawesti.
"I extend Australia's heartfelt prayers for President @jokowi, our Indonesian friends and all those impacted. Australia stands ready to assist," he said.
Amateur footage shown by local TV stations showed waters crashing into houses along Palu's shore, scattering shipping containers and flooding into a mosque in the city.
Nugroho described the damage as "extensive" with thousands of houses, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels collapsed, a bridge washed away and the main highway to Palu cut due to a landslide.
Bodies of some victims were found trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, he said, adding 540 people were injured.
Dozens of injured people were being treated in makeshift medical tents set up outdoors, TV images showed.
Indonesia's meteorological and geophysics agency BMKG issued a tsunami warning after the quake but lifted it 34 minutes later.
The agency has been widely criticised for not informing a tsunami had hit Palu on Saturday, though officials said waves had come within the time the warning was issued.
The quake and tsunami caused a major power outage that cut communications around Palu and on Saturday authorities were still having difficulties co-ordinating rescue efforts.
The disaster mitigation agency has not been able to get any information from the fishing town of Donggala, closer to the epicentre of the quake 27km away. More than 600,000 people live in Donggala and Palu.
Chief security minister Wiranto told TVOne the military had started sending in cargo planes from the capital Jakarta carrying relief aid.
The city's airport remained closed after its runway and air traffic control tower was damaged in the quake but officials said they were preparing to reopen to allow aid to come in.
Nugroho said no command centre for disaster recovery had been created yet.
The Palu area was hit by a less-powerful quake earlier on Friday, which destroyed some houses, killed one person and injured at least 10 in Donggala, authorities said.
Australian Associated Press
