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Terrifying video footage shows massive waves crashing into an Indonesian island as a tsunami struck after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

In the shocking footage, recorded in Palu, Sulawesi, on Friday, enormous waves can be seen surging forward amid terrified screams.

Officials had earlier withdrawn a tsunami warning.

This morning, the spokesman of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency BNPB said at least 48 people had been killed and the death toll was expected to rise.

"We have not received comprehensive reports yet because communications are cut. Many bodies were found along the shoreline because of the tsunami, but the numbers are still unknown," he said.

The water knocks down homes and smashes into trees, leaving a trail of destruction in its path, as residents cry out and try to run to safety.

The video comes as officials have confirmed a tsunami of up to two metres hit the city after a powerful earthquake rocked central Sulawesi.

Officials say waters have since receded, but families are missing.

Search operations are set to begin at first light to determine how bad the damage is, amid reports of whole families being missing in the aftermath of the natural disaster.

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(Image: Youtube)

(Image: Youtube)

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The earthquake hit the island on Friday - just hours after a smaller tremor destroyed buildings, killing one person and injuring 10 others.

The US Geological Survey said the second quake was centred at a depth of six miles around 35 miles northeast of the town of Donggala.

In the tsunami footage, waves can be seen tumbling at a great speed towards the land, as crowds of people shout and run frantically.

The person recording the dramatic scene focuses on the fleeing crowds, before turning back to the water, where giant waves are surging forward.

The water then crashes into the island before everything suddenly goes dark, with the sounds of panicked people heard in the background.

(Image: Youtube)

Moments later, the camera refocuses, showing water streaming below through the streets, bringing chunks of debris with it.

The Palu Grand Mall and the Baiturrahman Mosque were hit by huge waves close to the shore, the Jakarta Post reports.

Critics have questioned why a tsunami warning was lifted before the huge waves struck in Indonesia.

The country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) first issued a warning for western and central Sulawesi at 5.07pm, but revoked it around 30 minutes later.

The country's disaster agency confirmed a tsunami had hit Palu and the city of Donggala, sweeping away homes that were in its path.

Earlier, a tsunami warning had been issued for people in Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi provinces following the earthquake. The same area had been hit by a deadly, 6.1-magnitude quake just hours before.

Although the warning was lifted within the hour, officials asked people to remain on the alert as a number of moderate aftershocks hit.

"We advise people to remain in safe areas, stay away from damaged buildings," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said in a TV interview earlier.

He added that the national agency in Jakarta was having difficulties reaching some authorities in the area.

The Geological Survey put the magnitude of the second quake at 7.5, after first saying it was 7.7.

According to Nugroho, the quake was felt “very strongly”.

“We expect more damage and more victims,” he said.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

A series of earthquakes in July and August killed nearly 500 people on the holiday island of Lombok, hundreds of kilometres southwest of Sulawesi.

And in 2004, a big earthquake off the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, killing 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Footage of the incidents today, posted on social media, shows a number of buildings collapsed, with mounds of rubble lying on the ground.

Other clips show locals screaming and crying.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock) (Image: Youtube)

Last month, we reported that the Indonesian island of Bali had been hit by a major tremor for the third time in less than a month.

Panicked holidaymakers and locals rushed into the streets amid fears buildings would collapse during that incident.

The quake, which sparked a tsunami warning that was later stood down, struck Bali's neighbouring island of Lombok at the same location that was hit by a 6.4-magnitude quake that killed 14 people previously.

Model Christine Teigen and Take That star Gary Barlow were among numerous people sharing their horror experiences in the aftermath.