Officials believe hundreds still buried in mud after Indonesia quake
85 views · Published 6 October 2018 · 2:51 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(1 Oct 2018) While the official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Indonesia rose only slightly on Monday, an official said hundreds may still be trapped in mud that engulfed a housing block in one of the affected areas in Sulawesi province. Disaster agency spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the problem – in the Petobo area of Palu - was caused by the stressed ground losing stability and turning into mud in a phenomenon called 'liquefaction'. He said conditions on the ground in several parts remain bad, also singling out the Balaroa area of Palu, where the earthquake caused the ground to violently heave up and sink down in places, trapping many people under destroyed houses. Among foreign nationals caught in the disaster, Nugroho said all had been accounted for except one Belgian, one South Korean and six French nationals. Nugroho said Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had authorised the country to accept international help, but was not asking for it. He said generators, heavy equipment and tents were among the items needed and that the European Union and ten countries have offered assistance, including the United States, Australia and China. The confirmed death toll of 844 released by Nugroho on Monday afternoon was an increase of only 12 since the previous day, with nearly all of the total from Palu. But the regencies of Donggala, Sigi and Parigi Moutong - with a combined population of 1.2 million - had yet to be fully assessed. Nearly 50,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Palu alone, Nugroho said. It was the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, which is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. More recently, a powerful quake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people in August. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ccfa600f722bedd68a7c2ea4cbcb1e8b
