Indonesia’s disaster death
toll rises to over 2,000
 |
| An Indonesian woman at Petobo village in Palu, Indonesia.- AFP |
Indonesia's disaster agency will officially end search for
bodies on Oct. 11. It has also limited foreign disaster relief effort to supply
of only four items.
By Robin Gomes
The official death toll from Indonesia’s 7.5 magnitude
earthquake and tsunami on Sept. 28 has risen to 2,045, with more bodies being
found as some 10,000 rescuers search ruins in the coastal city of Palu in
Central Sulawesi province.
More than 82,000 people were displaced in
the worst-hit city of Palu, over 1,500 km northeast of the capital, Jakarta,
and 67,000 homes destroyed or damaged according to Indonesia's
disaster agency.
The earthquake and tsunami combined to devastate many areas
by liquefaction, a phenomenon that violently shakes up the soft,
damp soil with water, churning solid ground into a liquid state.
Search
Possibly 5,000 people are buried in parts
of the city and its surroundings obliterated by liquefaction.
Many survivors are living in shelters made out of salvaged
wood and plastic in the city and surrounding hills, where they wait and wonder
what will happen to them.
Rescue teams were working with residents to try to identify
where victims could be. But it's guesswork because of how far the ground moved
during liquefaction.
Relief, reconstruction
After a rare appeal for international assistance, Indonesia
is now trying to limit foreign involvement in the disaster
relief effort.
Indonesia's disaster agency said on Wednesday said there's
no need for international aid other than the four priorities identified by
Indonesia - tents, water treatment units, generators and transport.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the agency’s spokesman said that reconstruction
and rehabilitation were scheduled to begin in early November,
but did not specify how long it would take to complete.
He reiterated that the official search for bodies will
end on Thursday, with mass prayers in hard-hit neighborhoods but volunteers and
family members can continue searching.
Areas hit by liquefaction, he said, will be turned into
parks and sports fields and memorials.
The World Bank has offered Indonesia help,
including finance, in the reconstruction and rehabilitation process.
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