Via the Hill, a seven-foot wave kills hundreds in Indonesia:

Nearly 300 people are dead in the east Asian country of Indonesia after a tsunami struck the archipelago's central island of Sulawesi Friday evening.

The wave, which struck around sundown and reportedly washed away whole buildings, was the result of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that also damaged nearby towns, according to The Associated Press.

The tsunami struck hardest in Palu, a city of just over 330,000, where "tens to hundreds" of Indonesians were gathered for a beach festival when the quake hit, the AP reports.

A spokesman for the country's disaster agency told the AP that telecommunications were heavily damaged by the quake and subsequent storm, adding that he hoped international satellites travelling over the country would be able to be used for assistance.