Palu

Palun paaloo
—  City  —
Palun paaloo
Location of Palu in Sulawesi
Palun paaloo
Location of Palu in Indonesia
Coordinates:
Country Indonesia
Province Central Sulawesi
Government
 • Mayor Rusdi Mastura
Area
 • Total 395.06 km2 (152.5 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 335,297
 • Density 848.7/km2 (2,198.2/sq mi)
Time zone WITA (UTC+8)
 • Summer (DST) UTC (UTC+8)
Area code(s) 451
Website [1]

Palu is a chartered city (kota) on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, located 1,650 km northeast of Jakarta, at . It is the capital of the province of Central Sulawesi. The city sits on the mouth of Palu River, at the head of a long, narrow bay. Because of its sheltered position between mountain ridges, the climate is unusually dry. Palu has a population of 335,297,[1] not including those living in nearby regencies.

Contents

History

The town was ruled by the colonial Dutch until Indonesia reached its independence following World War II. The residence of the Dutch controleur still exists as a testament of that era.

2005 earthquake

On 24 January 2005 at 04:10 (UTC+8), an earthquake with magnitude 6.2 Richter scale occurred in the city. According to the local meteorological office, the hypocenter of the earthquake was around 1.249° S, 119.922° E, some 16 km southeast of Palu at the depth of 30 km of Bora Village's hot spring, Biromaru sub-district, Donggala Regency. Panic ensued as most people sought refuge in the highlands for fear of a repeat disaster like the tsunami as occurred in Aceh. The earthquake killed one person, injured four others, and destroyed 177 buildings.[2][3]

2005 market bombing

On 31 December 2005, a blast occurred in a market at a stall selling pork at around 07:35 (UTC +8) left eight people dead and 45 others injured.[4] An improvised explosive device, described as a nail bomb or similar,[5] detonated around 7:00 a.m. within a butcher's market mostly frequented by Christian Minahasa shopping for New Year's Eve celebrations, killing eight people and wounding a further 53.[5][6][7]

Sister cities

Indonesia Open Paragliding Championship

Indonesia Open Paragliding Championship is one of the world championship series which it was the first Indonesia Open held in the region at 19 to 25 June 2011. 78 paragliders taking part in the championship come from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea and Switzerland will compete in Wayu village (the Matantimali hills, 800 masl) about 30 kilometers from Palu.[8]

References

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Palu Palu] at Wikimedia Commons