Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits an area affected by an earthquake at Petobo district, Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 3, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo made a second visit to earthquake-devastated Sulawesi island on Wednesday, saying efforts to help survivors were gearing up and he was keen to see economic activity resume.
Five days after disaster struck, time is running out for anyone trapped under collapsed buildings, while aid workers warned of increasing desperation in hard-hit outlying areas that have yet to get any help at all.
The official death toll from the 7.5 magnitude quake that struck the west coast of Sulawesi last Friday stood at 1,234, many killed by tsunami waves triggered by the quake.
But officials fear the toll could soar, as most of the confirmed dead have come from Palu, a small city 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of Jakarta, and losses in remote areas largely cut off since Friday have yet to be determined.
The UN said Tuesday that it is allocating $15 million to assist victims in Indonesia after an earthquake and tsunami wreaked mass devastation on the island of Sulawesi.The death toll from the 7.4-magnitude earthquake and tsunami has risen to 1,347, according to the country’s Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).According to a statement by the UN, an estimated 66,000 homes and vital infrastructure were damaged, including roads and bridges.The statement said the UN is allocating $15 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the victims affected by the earthquake and tsunami.Trump offers condolences over deadly Indonesian quake“Thousands of people are unable to return to their damaged or destroyed homes and aftershocks continue. While the government and first responders are working tirelessly to deliver life-saving aid, the needs remain vast,” it added.Victims of the disaster are having difficulty obtaining necessities such as food and drinking water.Search and rescue work in collapsed buildings throughout the region continues.In Palu city and Donggala regency, aftershocks are raising fears of a new earthquake, with some people whose homes were left undamaged by the quake afraid to spend the night in them.The disaster in Central Sulawesi could be Indonesia’s second-largest tragedy after the 2004 Aceh tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people.At Indonesia hotel destroyed by quake, hunt for survivors goes onIndonesian leader says all quake victims must be found as toll rises above 1,200
UN pledges aid for Indonesian quake, tsunami victims
Underlining a growing sense of urgency, Widodo made his second visit to the disaster zone, putting on an orange hard hat to talk to rescue workers at a collapsed Palu hotel.
"What I've observed after returning now is heavy equipment has arrived, logistics have started to arrive although it's not at maximum yet, fuel has partly arrived,” Widodo told reporters.
Asked about efforts to restore electricity, he said:
"This is all a process. Most importantly, I've asked the governor to reopen economic centres so people start to return to daily activities, while the evacuation process continues, and later rehabilitation and reconstruction."
U.S. President Donald Trump offered his condolences Tuesday to his Indonesian counterpart over the recent deadly earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island.In a statement, the White House said Trump had a phone conversation with President Joko Widodo in which he expressed his condolences and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.Video: Mass looting spreads as residents of Indonesia's Palu wait desperately for aidTrump proposed to work closely with the Indonesian government to provide immediate assistance, the statement added.The death toll from the 7.4-magnitude earthquake and tsunami has risen to 1,347, according to the country’s Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).The disaster in Central Sulawesi could be Indonesia’s second-largest tragedy after the 2004 Aceh tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people.
Trump offers condolences over deadly Indonesian quake
Widodo, who will seek re-election next year, called on Tuesday for reinforcements in the search for victims, saying everyone had to be found. He repeated that on Wednesday, after inspecting what he called an "evacuation" effort at the Hotel Roa Roa, where he said some 30 people lay buried in the ruins.
"We'll continue this process so all the victims can be retrieved,” he said.
At least seven cargo planes arrived at Palu airport earlier on Wednesday carrying tonnes of aid, some bedecked in the red and white national colours and stamped with the presidential office seal declaring: "Assistance from the President of Republic of Indonesia”.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said late on Tuesday rescuers had reached all four of the badly affected districts, which together have a population of 1.4 million, but he declined to give an estimate of casualties.
"We hope the death toll does not rise," he said. "We're continuing rescue operations but right now the team is racing against time."
A 38-year-old man was extracted from a financial building in Palu, Central Sulawesi Monday, after the search and rescue team worked for three hours to get him out.
Rescuers extract man from rubble in Indonesia's Sulawesi
The quake brought down hotels, shopping malls and thousands of houses in Palu, while tsunami waves as high as six metres (20 feet) scoured its beachfront shortly afterwards.
About 1,700 houses in one neighbourhood alone were swallowed up by ground liquefaction, which happens when soil shaken by an earthquake behaves like a liquid, and hundreds of people are believed to have perished, the disaster agency said.
Adding to Sulawesi's woes, the Soputan volcano in the north of the island, about 600 km (375 miles) northeast of Palu, erupted early on Wednesday but there were no reports of any casualties or damage. Ash was not expected to disrupt flights.
But concern is growing about conditions in remote areas, many of which have been cut off by destroyed road, landslides and downed bridges.
Aid worker Lian Gogali said the situation in badly hit Donggala district was very difficult.
"Everyone is desperate for food and water. There's no food, water, or gasoline. The government is missing," she said.
She said her aid group had been sending in a trickle of rations into the district of some 300,000 people by motorbike.
The national disaster agency has said tents, food, water and sanitation facilities for more than 60,000 displaced people are in short supply.
Police have done little to stop outbreaks of looting. The government has played down the problem, saying victims could take essentials and shops would be compensated.
The government has said it would accept offers of international aid, after shunning outside help this year when two major earthquakes struck Lombok island, south of Sulawesi.
U.S. President Donald Trump extended condolences in a phone call with Widodo, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in Washington. The United States has provided initial funding, deployed government disaster experts and was working to determine what other help can be given, she said.
Sitting on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to quakes and tsunamis. A quake in 2004 triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.