Devastation in Indonesia: Death toll reaches 1234 as twin-disaster hits island, quake victims buried in mass grave
The confirmed death toll from an earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island has risen to 1,234, from 844, the national disaster mitigation agency said on Tuesday.
The confirmed death toll from an earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island has risen to 1,234, from 844, the national disaster mitigation agency said on Tuesday.
A 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday triggered tsunami waves as high as six metres (20 feet), which swept ashore at the small city of Palu, on the west coast of Sulawesi.Rescuers have yet to reach many affected areas leading to fears the death toll could rise again.
Earlier, the Indonesian volunteers dug mass graves for more than 1,000 bodies on Monday after a quake and tsunami devastated swathes of Sulawesi, as authorities -- struggling to deal with the sheer scale of the disaster -- appealed for international help.
But four days on some remote areas have yet to be contacted, medicines are running out and rescuers are struggling with a shortage of heavy equipment to reach desperate victims calling out from the ruins of collapsed buildings.
In response, President Joko Widodo opened the door to the dozens of international aid agencies and NGOs lined up to provide live-saving assistance.
"Last night, President @jokowi authorized us to accept international help for urgent disaster-response & relief," senior government official Tom Lembong wrote on Twitter, asking rescuers to contact him directly via his account and email.
Officials fear the toll will rise steeply in the coming days and are preparing for the worst.
At Poboya -- in the hills above the devastated seaside city of Palu -- volunteers dug a 100 metre-long grave to bury the dead, with instructions to prepare for 1,300 victims to be laid to rest.
Authorities are desperate to stave off any disease outbreak caused by decomposing bodies and have announced a 14-day state of emergency.
In Balaroa, a Palu suburb once home to a housing complex, the scale of the damage was apparent. A wasteland of flattened trees, shards of concrete, twisted metal roofing, doorframes and mangled furniture stretched out into the distance.
Dazed groups of people ambled over the wreckage, unclear where or how to start digging. Among them were three men looking for their younger brother.
Rescuers are racing against the clock and a lack of equipment to save those still trapped in the rubble, with up to 60 people feared to be underneath one Palu hotel alone.
Two survivors have been plucked from the 80-room Hotel Roa-Roa, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said, and there could still be more alive.
Desperate survivors turned to looting shops for basics like food, water and fuel as police looked on, unwilling or unable to intervene.
"There has been no aid, we need to eat. We don't have any other choice, we must get food," one man in Palu told AFP as he filled a basket with goods from a nearby store.
Indonesian soldiers bury quake victims in a mass grave in Poboya in Indonesia''s Central Sulawesi on October 2, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - The Indonesian government on October 2 said the death toll from a devastating quake-tsunami on the island of Sulawesi had risen to 1,234 people, up from the previous count of 844.
Photo Credits: AFP
This aerial photo shows Indonesian soldiers burying quake victims in a mass grave in Poboya in Indonesia''s Central Sulawesi on October 2, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - The Indonesian government on October 2 said the death toll from a devastating quake-tsunami on the island of Sulawesi had risen to 1,234 people, up from the previous count of 844.
Photo Credits: AFP
Motorcyclists pass a damaged section of a road following the earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 2, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
Earthquake and tsunami victims look for goods in a convenience store in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 2, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
Soldiers move dead bodies of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami during a mass burial at the Poboya Cemetery in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 2, 2018.
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Rescue team members carry a dead body as they walk among ruins after the earthquake in Palu, in Indonesia''s Sulawesi Island, October 2, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
Rescue team members carry a dead body as they walk among ruins after the earthquake in Palu, in Indonesia''s Sulawesi Island, October 2, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
An aerial view of liquefaction, or shifting ground, following an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 1, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken October 1, 2018.
Photo Credits: Reuters
Indonesian search and rescue members look for survivors in Palu, Indonesia's Central Sulawesi on October 2, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - The bodies of dozens of students have been pulled from their landslide-swamped church in Sulawesi, officials said on October 2, as an international effort to help nearly 200,000 Indonesia quake-tsunami victims ground into gear.
Photo Credits: AFP
The body of air traffic controller Anthonius Gunawan Agung, who died in Friday's earthquake, is carried to a helicopter during his funeral procession in Makassar, south Sulawesi, Indonesia September 29, 2018, in this picture obtained from social media.
Photo Credits: AFP
A survivor salvages useable items from the debris of a destroyed house in Palu, Indonesia''s Central Sulawesi on October 2, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - The bodies of dozens of students have been pulled from their landslide-swamped church in Sulawesi, officials said on October 2, as an international effort to help nearly 200,000 Indonesia quake-tsunami victims ground into gear.
Photo Credits: AFP
A man salvages useable items from the debris of a destroyed house in Palu, Indonesia''s Central Sulawesi on October 2, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - The bodies of dozens of students have been pulled from their landslide-swamped church in Sulawesi, officials said on October 2, as an international effort to help nearly 200,000 Indonesia quake-tsunami victims ground into gear.
Photo Credits: AFP
This handout from Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) taken on September 29, 2018, shows an aerial view of Palu, Indonesia's Central Sulawesi, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28. - Central Sulawesi was devastated by a quake and tsunami on the evening of September 28, killing at least 844 people. A major tsunami smashed into the seaside city of Palu, sweeping away buildings, trees, cars and those unlucky enough to lie in its path.
Photo Credits: AFP
A satellite image shows Palu, Indonesia on September 22, 2018.
Photo Credits: AFP
An aerial view of the Taipa beach area, following an earthquake and tsunami, North Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia October 1, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.
Photo Credits: Reuters
A ship is seen stranded on the shore after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area in Wani, Donggala, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia October 1, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.
Photo Credits: Reuters