Antara 29 Sep 18;
Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - The death toll in a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Central Sulawesi provincial capital of Palu reached 384 on Saturday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"The death toll is 384. The figure may increase, as the joint team has not reached all affected areas," Head of the BNPB Data and Information Center and Public Relations Sutopo Purwo Nugroho stated on Saturday.
Nugroho noted that 540 residents in Palu had sustained injuries. The figure did not include those from Donggala District that also bore the brunt of the quake and tsunami.
The Disaster Victim Investigation team of the National Police has, so far, identified 56 of the 384 dead victims.
The agency has also received a report that 29 people were still missing in Palu City.
Sutopo confirmed the social media report and photographs of the quake and tsunami victims that had yet to be evacuated.
The evacuation and identification of quake victims are still underway.
He noted that both Palu City and Donggala District currently need heavy-duty equipment, power supplies, and telecommunication networks apart from fast food and other basic necessities.
"Last night, the joint SAR team heard somebody seeking help to remove the debris falling on him. However, it is increasingly difficult to evacuate victims in the dark," he revealed.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency earlier stated that an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale had rocked the province on Friday evening. The quake, centered 27 kilometers (km) northeast of Donggala at a depth of 10 km, triggered a tsunami 0.5-6 meters high in the province`s western coast.
Reporting by Virna P Setyorini
Editing by Suharto
Editor: Suharto
Several hundreds of Palu quake victims likely trapped under rubble
Antara 29 Sep 18;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Several hundreds of residents of Palu City are feared to be trapped under the remnants of buildings destroyed by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked the capital city of Central Sulawesi Province on Friday.
As of Saturday morning, the earthquake victims, likely trapped under the rubble of the destroyed buildings, including the city`s biggest shopping mall, 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.
In response to this catastrophe, President Joko Widodo has expressed his condolences to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
Reporting by Budi Setiawanto dan Rolex Malaha
Editing by Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Central Sulawesi quake: What we know so far
Devina Heriyanto The Jakarta Post 28 Sep 18;
A tsunami hit Palu, Donggala and Mamuju in Central Sulawesi on Friday evening, triggered by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked the province at 5:02 p.m. Jakarta time. The epicenter of the quake is about 27 kilometers northeast of Donggala and 10 km deep.
Prior to the earthquake, in the afternoon, Donggala regency was hit by a 6.0 magnitude quake that killed at least one and injured several others. The quake struck about 2 km north of Donggala at a depth of 10 km and lasted 10 seconds. The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks of magnitudes between 3.2 and 5. The main quake was felt in Donggala, Palu and Poso.
Soon after the evening quake, a tsunami warning for Central Sulawesi was issued at 5:07 p.m. The warning, however, was revoked around 30 minutes later.
Soon, pictures and video footage of buildings being hit by water went viral on social media. Confusion ensued due to a lack of information from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) as communications were cut off.
It was only later that the BNPB confirmed that a tsunami had occurred. Its wave reached 1.5 meters high and hit, among other structures, Palu Grand Mall and Baiturrahman Mosque, both located near the coastline.
On Wednesday, the Palu Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Central Sulawesi said the region had been rocked by 30 earthquakes daily over the last four months. The daily quakes were caused by shifts in the Palu-Koro fault, which extends from Poso to the waters of Tolitoli regency and branches off to the Matano fault in South Sulawesi.
Cause of quakes, tsunami
BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the first quake, which hit at 2 p.m., was caused by a Palu-Koro thrust fault that stretched from Palu to Teluk Bone.
On Saturday morning, Sutopo explained in a tweet that the Palu-Koro fault was very active and its movement might have caused a submarine landslide that triggered the tsunami. Sutopo said more research was needed.
Death toll
As of Friday evening, the government had yet to receive reports about the number of victims who died in the disaster because the communications system was damaged.
Komang Adi Sujendra, the head of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Central Sulawesi, said in a video on Saturday morning that at Central Sulawesi General Hospital (RSUD) alone, 30 were dead and at least 21 injured.
At around 2 p.m. on Saturday, the BNPB announced that at least 384 people are dead, 29 missing and 540 injured as rescue teams scoured the ravaged city of Palu.
“Updated numbers of the victims show that 384 people died, 29 are missing and 540 are injured. Donggala is still unreachable because communications are still cut off. A team has been dispatched to the regency,” Sutopo said.
He added that the number of victims was likely to increase because the rescue teams have yet to reach other affected areas.
Scale of destruction
There is no definitive data on the scale of destruction in the region. Damage estimates can only be determined via pictures and videos spread online. Communications have been cut off, making it hard to find information.
Video footage of the tsunami shows that the wave swept away several small buildings on the coastline. Pictures and videos show the iconic Ponulele Bridge, a major tourist attraction located near the coast of Palu, as having collapsed.
Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport in Palu is closed due to damages caused by the earthquake. A notification letter from AirNav Indonesia announced on Friday evening that the closure would be effective from 7:26 p.m. local time on Friday until 7:20 p.m. on Saturday. The airport suffered damages to its navigation system as well as 500 meters of its 2,500-m-long runway as a result of the earthquake, which made it impossible for large aircraft to land.
Confusion over tsunami warning
Critics have questioned why the agency decided to revoke the warning when a tsunami did take place.
BMKG chairwoman Dwikorita Karnawati claimed the warning was revoked after the agency learned the tsunami was over.
She also claimed that the height of the waves had decreased gradually, prompting the agency to revoke the tsunami warning status at 5:36 p.m.
According to the BNPB, the BMKG had initially given a different reason for its decision to change the status.
“The decision was based on visual monitoring and further monitoring using the equipment [tsunami detection buoys] at sea for 30 minutes. The BMKG did not see any significant change in the sea level. That’s why they ended the alert,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
Tsunami expert Abdul Muhari criticized the BMKG’s decision to end the tsunami warning early after the agency had obtained witness reports of a 1.5-m high wave.
“If witnesses said they saw a wave with a height of more than 1 meter, authorities should not have ended the warning, because more waves could have hit at any time soon after. Until authorities can confirm that the tsunami is over, the warning should be kept,” Abdul told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He added that authorities might not be able to reach a conclusion immediately because they lacked the proper equipment to measure the height of the sea level both from land and in the water, as the only tide gauge available was located around 400 km away in Mamuju.
Disaster relief efforts
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto led a meeting with ministers and state institutions on Friday evening to set a plan of action that will involve the deployment of personnel, dispatch of aid and reparation of damaged facilities.
Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport is partly damaged. However, the government said it expected that the remaining 2,000 m of the runway could still be used for the landing of a Hercules cargo aircraft and CN-235 aircraft, which authorities would use to speed up the deployment of personnel and delivery of aid, including medical assistance and food supplies.
"The Transportation Ministry will deploy one helicopter from Makassar to Palu while bringing navigation equipment, which will be used to handle aircraft that can deliver supplies," he said, adding that, by Saturday morning, the runway was expected to be used for landing by the Hercules aircraft.
Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel stationed near the affected areas and officials from Gorontalo, Mamuju and Makassar were working to help clear building debris to find and rescue any victims who might be trapped, Wiranto said.
Sutopo said in an update that, as of 9:19 a.m., military personnel and aid totaling 6,943 kilograms had been sent to Palu.
C. Sulawesi earthquake sends shocks across Makassar Strait
N. Adri The Jakarta Post 29 Sep 18;
When Donggala regency in Central Sulawesi was struck by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, residents in the neighboring island of Borneo also felt the shock.
Wahyullah, an architect living in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, reported the jolt lasted for seconds. The city is located around 410 kilometers to the west of Donggala, separated by the Makassar Strait.
“[We felt] the earthquake, around 6:10 p.m.,” he said on Friday evening.
Wahyullah and other employees who were in the office buildings within the area exited the buildings and gathered in the muster points.
A string of earthquakes hit Donggala on Friday afternoon, the strongest of which, measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, occured at 6:02 p.m. local time.
The largest earthquake was followed by tsunami waves measuring 0.5 meters to 3 m in height that lashed parts of the Donggala coast and Talise beach in Palu, as the results of rising waters in Palu Bay.
The head of the search and aid operations office in Balikpapan, Octavianto, told The Jakarta Post that his unit had been on full alert since then.
The Post also received reports that visitors of Samarinda Central Plaza in Samarinda, also in East Kalimantan, exited the building when the quake occurred.
The shock was also felt by residents in Bontang city, Sangatta district in East Kutai, and Tanjung Redeb district in Berau, which are located along the eastern coast of East Kalimantan.
The distance between Balikpapan and Tanjung Redeb is around 800 km.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that the epicenter of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake was located about 27 km north-east of Donggala at a depth of 10 km.
The BMKG said the major earthquake – stemming from shifts of the active Palu-Koro fault –a fracture of the earth’s crust that spans from the Makassar Strait to the northern part of Boni Gulf in western Sulawesi.
The fault runs underneath Sulawesi Island.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed condolences to the victims.
Jokowi called for calm among all Indonesian people, especially those living in or near the disaster-hit regions.
“To remain calm but stay alert as well. We hope this can be done together,” he said in Surakarta, Central Java, on Friday night. (sau)
