Indonesia says 5,000 missing after quake and tsunami
October 7, 2018
Indonesian officials have indicated that many more people may have died in a quake disaster than the current toll, with 5,000 still unaccounted for. Authorities say the search for bodies will end October 11.
The agency said it had so far recovered 1,763 bodies as the death toll from the 7.5-magnitude earthquake continues to rise.
Rescuers continued to search for victims on Sunday with little hope of finding survivors 10 days after the September 28 disaster, but authorities said efforts to retrieve bodies would end on October 11.
Those unaccounted for were mostly from Petobo and Balaro, two of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in the badly affected city of Palu. People there may have been engulfed after the ground beneath them turned liquid in a phenomenon known to geologists as soil liquefaction.
Petabo was almost completely flattened in the disasterImage: Reuters/A. Perawongmetha
"Based on reports from the (village) heads of Balaroa and Petobo, there are about 5,000 people who have not been found," a spokesman for the disaster agency said.
"It is not easy to obtain the exact number of those trapped by landslides, or liquefaction, or mud," the spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, told reporters.
The government has been considering declaring the two areas to be mass graves and leaving them untouched.
The search-and-rescue NGO ISAR-Germany is also on the ground in SulawesiImage: Reuters/H. Hanschke
Growing relief efforts
Relief efforts to succor the some 200,000 people in desperate need of aid have meanwhile been stepped up, with planeloads of supplies sent from various countries, including Australia and the United States, arriving in Palu with increasing frequency. More than 82,000 military and civilian personnel, as well as volunteers, are helping in search operations and to distribute aid.
Aid supplies were slow to arrive but are now being stepped upImage: Reuters/H. Hanschke
Tens of thousands have been left homeless by the disaster and are completely dependent on handouts to survive.
Indonesia is very prone to earthquakes, situated as it is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area often affected by seismic upheavals and volcanic eruptions.
In 2004, an earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Indonesia tsunami and earthquake devastate Sulawesi island
Authorities have ended a search for more than 5,000 people still missing, leaving their whereabouts a mystery. Indonesia is grappling with widespread destruction after an earthquake and tsunami struck Sulawesi Island.
Image: Reuters/H. Mubarak
A bridge washed away
On Friday, September 28, a massive tidal wave unleashed by a 7.5-magnitude quake slammed into the Indonesian city of Palu located on Sulawesi island. The impact washed away Palu's 300-meter (328 yard) double-arched bridge, plunging cars into the water.
Image: Getty Images/C. Court
A deadly geophysical coincidence
This satellite image from October 1 shows how Palu is built on lowlands at the end of a narrow bay. Scientists say the shape of the bay amplified the size and power of the waves by forcing the water into a narrow and shallow channel. The earthquake's epicenter was also located close to shore, making the waves more powerful and leaving little time for warning.
Image: Reuters/Planet Labs Inc
A flooded mosque
The wave hit Palu, a city with a population of 380,000, on Friday evening as Muslim worshippers were gathering for evening prayers in local mosques. Authorities said that many others were caught on the beach while preparing a festival which was set to start later in the day.
Image: BNPB
Hospitals overwhelmed
With local hospitals crowded by hundreds of wounded, doctors were forced to treat the injured outside. Komang Adi Sujendra, director of a Palu hospital, urged assistance. "We need all the help we can get," he said. "We need field hospitals, medical workers, medicines and blankets."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Rifki
Burying the dead
On October 2, the official death toll of the tsunami and quake reached over 1,200. Authorities expect that number to rise as more people remain trapped. On October 1, the national disaster agency told AP that over 150 bodies were buried in a mass grave, with the burial operations ongoing. Indonesia is a majority-Muslim nation, and religious custom calls for burial soon after death.
Image: DW/Nurdin Amir
Trapped below the rubble
The tsunami carried sand, mud and debris inland. Roads were blocked and communications disrupted with other cities. Rescue efforts in remote areas around Palu was hampered by the extent of damage to infrastructure. More heavy equipment was also needed.
Image: Reuters/Antara Foto
'Liquified' earth
The heavy earthquake caused sand and silt saturated by water to take on liquid characteristics in a process known as liquefaction. The national rescue agency said that over 1,700 houses in the Palu area were wiped out by liquefied soil.
Image: Reuters/I. Puta
President Widodo pledges to rebuild
Authorities managed to open the local airport a day after the tsunami, allowing the Indonesian mlitary to start delivering aid. The country's President Joko Widodo (r) visited the island and pledged to rebuild the city. The Associated Press reported that Widodo has authorized international help. The EU and 10 countries including the US, Australia and China have offered assistance.
Image: Biro Pers Setpers
Looters risk life and limb
Indonesian media showed images of survivors entering the heavily damaged malls and supermarkets to loot supplies, despite the risk of building collapse. Some Palu residents started returning to their homes to salvage usable items. German news agency dpa reported on October 2 that police arrested 45 people in Palu for looting.
Image: Reuters/DRONE PILOT TEZAR KODONGAN
Queuing for fuel
The earthquake and tsunami knocked out power to the island and left many residents without access to clean water and medical supplies. Some of them descended on gas stations to pump out fuel by hand for their generators.
Image: DW/N. Amir
Foreign aid
President Widodo has opened the door to foreign aid organizations as 200,000 people remain in desperate need of food, water and medicine. International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Germany has sent personnel to assist authorities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Heine
Search called off
On October 11, authorities called off the search for missing people, leaving the whereabouts of around 5,000 people a mystery. Experts believe that many of the missing are buried underground after entire villages were swallowed by "liquid earth." To commemorate the missing, parks and monuments are planned for Balaroa, Petobo and Jono Oge, considered the worst-hit areas of the island.
