A magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday. The death toll from the 7.5 earthquake stands at 832, but is expected to rise sharply again.
Sutopo stated the disaster agency rescue teams were working on Sunday had recovered 13 bodies and two survivors from the wreckage of Palu city’s malls and hotels.
In the city of Palu, where the rescue team were focusing on their task on Sunday, efforts began to identify the hundreds of bodies, many which had been collected from along the beaches, and would be temporarily buried in mass graves.
Another subdistrict in West Palu district appeared to have sunk into the ground, with thousands also feared dead.
Joko Widodo, Indonesian president visited Palu yesterday to inspect the devastation.
There is still no electricity in the affected area after pylons and power stations were devastated and uprooted by the earthquake.
Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth. Therefore a common question from many people why a more effective tsunami warning system was not in place in Sulawesi. It has emerged that there were plans to install an early warning system in the area, after the 2004 tsunami which killed almost 250,000 people. However, intergovernmental disagreements meant the project has still not been completed.
> Shiuly Rina
Massive Earthquake and Tsunami in Indonesia killed Thousands of People
