Indonesian tsunami: 832 confirmed dead, rescuers struggle to reach devastated towns across Sulawesi
Updated
The death toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has soared to 832, with fears the numbers will climb as rescuers try to get aid to outlying communities cut off from communications.
Key points:
- 832 people are now confirmed dead in Sulawesi disaster
- "Many" are trapped in collapsed buildings and outlying areas have no communications
- Food, water, fuel, medicine, tents and baby supplies are all in short supply
Dozens of people were reported to be trapped in the rubble of several hotels and a mall in the city of Palu, on Sulawesi island, which was hit by waves as high as six metres following the magnitude-7.5 earthquake on Friday.
A woman was pulled alive from the debris of the city's Roa Roa Hotel, where up to 60 people were believed trapped. Hundreds of people gathered at the wrecked eight-storey Tatura Mall searching for loved ones.
"Grieve for the people of Central Sulawesi, we all grieve together," President Joko Widodo tweeted late on Sunday as he inspected the damage.
Most of the confirmed deaths were in Palu itself.
Of particular concern is Donggala, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and close to the epicentre of the quake, and two other districts.
Along with Palu, 1,500 km northeast of Jakarta, these districts have a combined population of about 1.4 million.
"We don't know for sure what is the impact," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, told a news conference.
He said that while the confirmed death toll had now more than doubled, most were from Palu, with authorities still struggling to assess the situation in Donggala.
Social worker Lian Gogali tweeted from the area that several villages on the west coast of Sulawesi were in desperate need of food, medicine and shelter and that road access was still limited.
Mr Nugroho said there were still not comprehensive reports about casualties in surrounding coastal areas.
"The death toll is believed to be still increasing since many bodies were still under the wreckage, while many have not been reached," he said.
Three French citizens, one South Korean, and one Malaysian were still missing, Mr Nugroho said. No Australians were on the list of foreigners.
The national disaster mitigation agency announced the drastically increased toll over the weekend, saying it believed the affected area to be bigger than initially thought.
Authorities say food, water, medicine, tents, medicine and baby supplies are in short supply.
Mr Nugroho had earlier said "tens to hundreds" of people were taking part in a beach festival in Palu when the tsunami struck at dusk on Friday. Their fate was unknown.
Australia offers assistance
Authorities believe that an undersea avalanche caused by the quake created tsunami waves that hit the north-western part of the island, with the town of Palu worst affected.
Video showed a fast moving wall of water flooding into the city, carrying cars, trees and parts of buildings with it.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has offered assistance to Indonesia, telling ABC's Insiders that he had been in contact with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and expressed his sympathies.
"If he needs our help he'll have it," Mr Morrison said.
He added that "they haven't asked for any of that but the President was very appreciative of Australians' empathy."
"The challenge will be … when you have these disasters that it can compound very quickly. So providing support as needed to secure the scene and make sure that issues do not deteriorate further I think will be a very big challenge," he said.
Mr Widodo visited the area on Sunday to inspect the damage and the ongoing rescue.
He said rescue teams were struggling to recover the victims because of a shortage of heavy equipment.
The military has started sending in aircraft with aid from Jakarta and other cities, authorities said.
Palu's airport was damaged in the quake, but has now reopened for limited commercial flights, according to authorities.
ABC/Wires
Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, floods, indonesia
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