The earthquakes and subsequent tsunami that hit Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi have to date killed 1,407 people, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported on 3 October.

Search and rescue personnel work at a collapsed site in Palu (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

According to BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the death toll in Palu alone reached 1,177 people, in Donggala 153 people, Sigi 65 people, and Parigi Moutong 12 people.

There are 2,549 seriously injured people being treated in hospitals, 133 people unaccounted for, and over 65,000 houses severely damaged.

Of the 121 foreigners affected by the disaster, one remains missing while the rest have been confirmed as safe.

The Indonesian Government has set up 141 refugee camps accommodating 70,821 people and is working to speed up the recovery progress.

The official said as of September 28, when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Palu, 362 aftershocks have occurred, 12 of which recorded strong magnitudes.

To date, 29 countries, including Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the UK, and Japan, as well as four international organisations, have offered their support for Indonesia.

Also on 3 October, President Joko Widodo made a second visit to the earthquake-devastated Sulawesi island.

On 2 October, Indonesian warship KRI Makassar-590 brought 1,273 military and police personnel, 360 volunteers, and other vehicles to Palau to aid the search and rescue efforts.

Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province was ravaged by two quakes measuring 6.1 and 7.5 on the Richter scale on September 28. A 6m tsunami hit the shore after the second quake struck the area in the afternoon of the same day, destroying thousands of houses and infrastructure. As many as 48,000 people have been evacuated.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes as it sits in a vulnerable area called the Pacific Ring of Fire.

(Source: VNA)