10 minutes of terror: A quake, a tsunami and a missing son
PALU, Indonesia — The Muslim call to prayer had just started echoing across the Indonesian city of Palu when Musrifah’s home began to shake violently.
Family photos fell from the walls. Dishes and glasses crashed to the floor. A television smashed onto the white tiles of their living room, prompting Musrifah to scoop her 2-year-old son into her arms.
Seconds later, the concrete sides of their one-story house cracked, then crumbled, filling the air inside with pale clouds of dust.
“Mommy!” the terrified boy cried, his body trembling as his hands pressed into her back.