As per its report, the country’s disaster management agency said that so far almost all the deaths had been recorded in Palu. Eleven deaths had been recorded in the region of Donggala to the north of Palu, it said.
Rescue operations and search for those stranded are still on in the area.
Waves as high as 1.5 metres (five feet) high had slammed into the city of 350,000 on Sulawesi island on Friday.
After the earthquake hit the island on Friday, water smashed into buildings and swept away homes in the coastal city of Palu, home to 350,000 people, reports CNN.
Electricity and communications have been cut off, making it difficult to assess the damage in Palu and nearby fishing community of Donggala, Sutopo said.
With Palu airport closed, relief workers are making their way to the city by road.
"We already have people en route but you never know what damage there is to the road infrastructure," Gelfand added.
The city's authorities urged residents to not go inside their homes on Saturday night and to sleep away from buildings - fields, roads or yards because of the danger from aftershocks.
The horrific scene began on Friday when the first in a series of tremors was felt at 3 p.m., 56 km north of Palu, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Three quakes of 4.9 and larger magnitudes were recorded up to three hours before the tremor near Palu.
The tremor triggered a tsunami that hit beaches in the cities of Palu and Donggala, officials said.
A series of aftershock quakes were reported in the aftermath of the quake, including a 5.8 magnitude tremor just 12 minutes later.
An early tsunami warning had been issued by the Indonesian meteorological agency, but was later lifted after the agency ascertained that the water had receded.
The quakes come a month after a trio of earthquakes hit several islands in the South Pacific and Indonesia, including Lombok, which is still recovering from the effects of an August 5 earthquake that killed more than 430 people.
(Inputs from agencies)