“We need all the help we can get,” said director of the Undata clinic in the island’s capital Palu, Komang Adi Sujendra. The number of victims will probably increase; more than 350 people were injured.
After the severe earthquakes on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and a deadly tsunami, the extent of the disaster is becoming increasingly clear. At least 384 people were killed according to the latest information from civil protection on Saturday, more than 350 were injured. And the number of victims is likely to rise even further, as spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said.
“We need all the help we can get,” said director of the Undata clinic in the island’s capital Palu, Komang Adi Sujendra. According to civil protection, of all the current quakes, this one was stronger of the two earthquakes, which shook all of Sulawesi with a magnitude of 7.4 on Friday evening (local time). Previously, there had already been a quake of 5.9 magnitude.
The center of the second earthquake was about ten kilometers deep, about 80 kilometers north of Palu. This quake triggered a high wave of sea, which broke over the coast of the city. Many people panicked. Several houses were washed away. A shopping mall and a mosque also suffered serious damage.
Other places on the coast of Sulawesi, one of the largest Indonesian islands, are also affected. Several houses and communication lines were destroyed, as well as the airport, the city of 350,000-inhabitant Palu was closed. Only helicopters are allowed to land.
With more than 260 million inhabitants one of the most populous states – is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically very active zone regarding the earth quakes which hits the place again and again. More than 500 people lost their lives in the summer on several earthquakes on the tourist-popular island of Lombok – the neighboring island of Bali. Even volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in Indonesia.
Sources: Die Presse