Indonesian earthquake death toll ‘could reach thousands’
Authorities expect the death toll from Indonesia’s latest major earthquake to rise well beyond the current 832 deaths recorded.
The final total could be in the ‘thousands’ after Friday’s quake and resulting tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesian vice president Jusuf Kalla said.
Most of these confirmed fatalities are from Palu, with much worse expected once rescue teams get to cut-off communities in Dongala and other outlying districts.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the impacted area is more widespread than first thought.
"There are many areas where the search and rescue teams haven’t been able to reach," Nugroho said.
"We haven’t received reports from three other areas. Communication is still down, power is still out. We don’t know for sure what the impact is."
Nugroho said at least five foreigners are among the missing.
Questions are being asked over the lack of a SMS alert to residents for a tsunami warning, although this has been blamed on the earthquake knocking out cellular towers in the area.
A disaster agency official said tsunami waves were travelling at a rapid speed and crashed onto beaches in Palu where hundreds of people were gathered to celebrate a festival.
Palu’s airport was partially damaged in the quake but reopened for limited commercial flights and aircraft bringing in aid.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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