Destruction lies everywhere in and around the city of Palu in Indonesia after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Sulawesi which further triggered a strong tsunami on Friday, killing on its wake, at least 800 people, with the figure predicted to increase in the days to come as the on-going search and rescue operations in the area continues, the National Disaster Mitigation agency said. Meanwhile, damages incurred by coastal city are still being assessed as the government make their way into the midst of the disaster.
As of Sunday, there are at least 844 people confirmed to have died in this latest earthquake and tsunami events in Palu, Indonesia, the BBC said.
Citing authorities working closely in the affected area since Friday, there will be more body counts to expect in the next few days as the operation spreads even deeper into the hinterlands.
The local government of Palu has issued the order to do begin burying the victims in mass graves, which raised public concerns about the inadvertent spread of disease around the area.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told the British news agency that communication at ground zero is limited as well as the availability of heavy machineries needed to search the ruins of commercial and residential buildings for both the living and the dead.
Several structures were toppled down by the earthquake, with some buildings completely razed to the ground.
Initial ocular inspection done by damage assessment team indicated the destruction of a hotel and a shopping center. The nearby fishing community of Donggala also suffered serious structural damages that have yet to be accounted for.
On the island of Sulawesi, one of the biggest in the world in terms of land area, there were fears of road infrastructure damages which will further impede the search and rescue work.
Meanwhile, electricity and communications in the disaster area are still offline, the report from CNN said.
In a statement given to the news agency, Jan Gelfand, the head of International Red Cross in Indonesia, said that the concern is not just about the people living in the urban areas. They are also setting their eyes on affected communities which are currently very difficult to reach.
Even the delivery of relief goods and medicines is an ordeal on itself since closing of the Palu airport which has been rendered useless following the earthquake.
The Indonesian government has given on Saturday the order prohibiting residents to re-enter their homes, most especially buildings with structures that have already been compromised.
