'Tragedy Everywhere': Aid Groups Scramble Against Time After Indonesian Tsunami
- by Ken Ortega
- in Worldwide
- — Oct 8, 2018
The Queen has sent a message to the President of Indonesia following a devastating natural disaster and tsunami in Sulawesi last week.
The city, 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, has teetered close to chaos this week, with outbreaks of looting, but a recovery was evident as some shops and banks reopened and a major mobile phone network was back in operation.
But the death toll, now above 1,500 hundred is still expected to climb. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said security was being ramped up to ensure law and order after 92 people were arrested for looting goods such as motor oil, tires and farming equipment.
Eastern Indonesia is vulnerable to graver risks of quakes and tsunamis as it lies on an area where three plates of Indo-Australia, Eurasia and Pacific meet, according to Sutopo.
Some services began returning to normal in Indonesia's quake and tsunami stricken city of Palu on Thursday, but the fate of many thousands of people in outlying districts remained unknown almost a week after the disaster struck. The government has said hundreds of people were severely injured in Friday's disasters.
The Indonesian military has deployed several soldiers in front of shops, ATMs, gas pumps and airports as the authorities work to coordinate the distribution of aid to the region where more than 70,000 people have been displaced.
Indonesian national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says the body of a South Korean missing since last Friday's quake and tsunami in central Sulawesi has been found.
No one knows how many people were dragged to their deaths when the ground under Petobo and nearby areas south of Palu, dissolved so violently.
More news: West Accuses Russia Of Global Hacking ConspiracyCatastrophe bonds and the support of International Monetary Fund and World Bank entities could help Indonesia to put in place a funding mechanism that provides liquidity immediately after disaster strike, while the insurance and reinsurance market could help the government protect its own balance-sheet and buffer taxpayers.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told reporters in Washington: "We will be working very closely with the Indonesian government to make sure that the support we are providing is highly targeted". But since 2012, the devices have not been functioning, and many of them were vandalized or stolen, said the spokesman.
"The earth was like a blender, blending everything in its way", said Hasnah, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.
The twin disasters struck Palu and surrounding districts in Central Sulawesi province on September 28.
They are unsure when they'll be able to rebuild and spend hours each day often futilely trying to secure necessities such as fuel for generators.
Residents walk past destroyed buildings in the Perumnas Balaroa village in Palu, after an quake and tsunami hit the area.
Landslides, severely damaged roads and other challenges have made it hard to assess the full extent of the disaster.
Among those gathered at the airport in Palu was Fitriani, one of a group of students hoping to leave for an Islamic competition in far-off Medan, on the island of Sumatra.
