This past Friday, September 28, a double disaster struck the Indonesian island of Sulawasi. First, a shallow 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the region. Then, less an hour later, a 18 foot high tsunami tore across the island – devastating the cities of Palu and Donggala. Donggala remains inaccessible by ground, as the the main bridge into the city collapsed during the disaster.

At present over 800 people are confirmed dead, but that number could rise to the thousands as rescue and recovery efforts get under way. The tragedy was compounded by the lack of any tsunami warning. Even though there are 22 buoys across the region to monitor for the presence of tsunamis, Indonesia's national disaster agency confirmed that they have not been operational for the past six years.

ABCNJ calls on our family to pray for those affected by this tragedy, and for the long recovery which will follow. Pray also for the relief efforts which are already under way – we will pass on any information from International Ministries as it becomes available.

Articles from the New York Times and The Washington Post served as sources of information for this post.