Indonesia is in a race against time to save victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi island last Friday, the government said Tuesday, as the official death toll rose to 1,234.
Indonesia is in a race against time to save victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi island last Friday, the government said Tuesday, as the official death toll rose to 1,234.
Four days after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami, supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas of Palu, the largest city that was heavily damaged. Many roads in the earthquake zone are blocked and communications lines remain down.
Many people are believed to be trapped under shattered houses in Balaroa, where the earthquake caused the ground to heave up and down violently. Teams continued searching for survivors under destroyed homes and buildings, including a collapsed eight-story Rao Rao Hotel in Palu, but they needed more heavy equipment to clear the rubble.
More than 25 countries have offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help.
Some homeless residents weren’t waiting for help. Dozens sifted through what remained of a flattened complex of warehouses along Palu’s ravaged coastline, looking for anything they could salvage to help them rebuild or sell. They carted away corrugated metal, wood, piping and other items.
Near the coast, the tsunami shattered buildings, uprooted concrete and thrust boats inland. The deadly wave reportedly reached as high as 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) in places.
In Palu’s Petobo neighbourhood, the quake caused loose, wet soil to liquefy, creating a thick, heavy quicksand-type material that resulted in massive damage. Hundreds of victims are still believed to be buried in the mud there.
Liquefaction of soil can be compared to walking on a sandy beach.
It was the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, which is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. More recently, a powerful quake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people in August.
Four days after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami, supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas of Palu, the largest city that was heavily damaged. Many roads in the earthquake zone are blocked and communications lines remain down.
Many people are believed to be trapped under shattered houses in Balaroa, where the earthquake caused the ground to heave up and down violently. Teams continued searching for survivors under destroyed homes and buildings, including a collapsed eight-story Rao Rao Hotel in Palu, but they needed more heavy equipment to clear the rubble.
More than 25 countries have offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help.
Some homeless residents weren’t waiting for help. Dozens sifted through what remained of a flattened complex of warehouses along Palu’s ravaged coastline, looking for anything they could salvage to help them rebuild or sell. They carted away corrugated metal, wood, piping and other items.
Near the coast, the tsunami shattered buildings, uprooted concrete and thrust boats inland. The deadly wave reportedly reached as high as 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) in places.
In Palu’s Petobo neighbourhood, the quake caused loose, wet soil to liquefy, creating a thick, heavy quicksand-type material that resulted in massive damage. Hundreds of victims are still believed to be buried in the mud there.
Liquefaction of soil can be compared to walking on a sandy beach.
It was the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, which is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. More recently, a powerful quake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people in August.