Cause of puzzling tsunami near Sulawesi unraveled

When tectonic plates collide and thrust over each other and cause an earthquake, a tsunami can occur. That should not happen in an earthquake where the plates slide past each other. And yet that was exactly what happened on 28 September 2018 near Palu Bay (Sulawesi, Indonesia), mere minutes after an earthquake of that second category. The earthquake and tsunami killed 4,000 people. Geologists then pondered the cause of this unexpected wave. A team of researchers led by Utrecht University earth scientist Taco Broerse has a new solution to the riddle: under certain conditions, earthquakes of this type can indeed cause tsunamis. Similar situations are also found near Istanbul.