REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PALU -- The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Willem Rampangilei, said the number of deaths from the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that jolted Donggala in Central Sulawesi on Friday at 6:02 p.m. Central Indonesia Standard Time, had risen to 420. However, the death toll has not covered Donggala and Sigi districts.
"This is the number recorded in Palu only," he noted, replying to Antara on Saturday evening.
Willem said the destruction caused by the quake in Donggala and Sigi has been very significant. No reports about its degree and victims have been received yet, due to disruptions in communications, he said.
In view of the situation, the Special Task Force's main priority would be searching, saving and assisting the victims, he said. Until Saturday evening, there have been 10,000 evacuees housed in 50 locations in the city of Palu.
"They will be given shelter, food and medicines," he said.
Some of the dead who had been kept in hospitals have been taken by their families, Willem said, but the number of the dead could still increase, as search efforts have not yet covered all buildings, such as large hotels, shop houses, warehouses and other buildings.
"We have difficulties deploying heavy equipment, as many access roads to Palu have been severely damaged," he said.
Willem noted that thousands of boxes of ready-to-eat foods have to be brought in from Surabaya, East Java.
He also said the military (TNI) had sent paramedics and medical supplies, including a hospital ship, which is expected to arrive in one to two days.
Aerial view of Palu after being struck by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, Saturday (Sept 29).
Trapped under rubble
As of Saturday morning, the earthquake victims, likely trapped under the rubble of the destroyed buildings. Victims in the city's biggest shopping mall also have yet to be evacuated.
Antara journalist Rolex Malaha, who traveled across the city to observe the real condition in the aftermath of the quakes on Saturday morning, reported that tens of local residents might still be trapped under the rubble of the four-floor Tatura shopping mall.
A worker at Tatura shopping mall stated that several victims, buried under the rubble, had yet to be rescued and evacuated.
A total of 14 bodies, retrieved from the Tatura shopping mall, had been carried to the Budi Agung Hospital, while several hundreds of wounded survivors had yet to receive medical treatment due to unavailability of doctors.
Several buildings, including the Roa-Roa Hotel and Anutapura Hospital, were destroyed by the strong earthquake, which was followed by a tsunami.
The eight-floor hotel has 80 rooms, of which 76 were occupied by guests. According to several witnesses, many guests of the hotel might still be trapped under the rubble.
Meanwhile, the fate of several hundreds of people flocking to the Wonderful Palu Nomoni Festival venue remain unknown after the tsunami hit the area on Friday afternoon. Among those missing are dancers, who would perform at the annual festival.
The strong earthquake not only destroyed many commercial and government buildings but also the people's houses. Several city residents, fearing the aftershocks, have yet to return to their houses and have instead taken refuge in safer places and are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Certain parts of Central Sulawesi, especially the areas of Donggala District and Palu, the province's capital city, were rocked by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Friday afternoon. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency has issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake. The tremors of the strong earthquake were also felt by those living in Mamuju District, around 237 kilometers away from Donggala District.
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