A powerful earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia early Monday, killing at least four people, damaging hundreds of homes and briefly triggering a region-wide tsunami warning, officials said as they surveyed the damage. The 7.5-magnitude quake struck off the coast of Sulawesi island in the middle of the night, sending thousands fleeing homes, hotels and even hospitals. Some grabbed the hands of crying children and clutched onto their most valuable possessions. The US Geological Survey said the temblor hit 135 km from the nearest city of Gorantalo and was centered 26 km beneath the sea. Two strong aftershocks followed, one measuring 5.5 and the other 5.1. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that the massive quake had the potential to generate a destructive tsunami along coasts within 1,000 km. Frightened Sulawesi residents refused to return indoors long after a local alert was lifted, many sleeping in the hills. By morning, officials were starting to get a better sense of the destruction. Rustam Pakaya, the head of the Health Ministry's Crisis Center, said four people died and 77 others were injured. About 800 homes were badly damaged, some of them flattened.
