Families on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi were gathering to have dinner when disaster struck. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the region, triggering a massive tsunami that sent a deadly wall of water up to 6m high towards Sulawesi’s beaches of Palu and Donggala and their surrounds.
Many of the families settling in for the evening never stood a chance.
There are reports a high-tech tsunami-warning system, which may have saved lives in Indonesia, was not working properly. Amid the confusion, many people were still on the beach when the tsunami slammed into Palu on Sept. 28.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne have expressed their condolences to the people of Indonesia in a joint statement and pledged support if Indonesia requests it.
Richard Wecker, emergency coordinator for UNICEF Indonesia, tells WHO: “With each new report about this devastating earthquake and tsunami, our concern increases for the safety of children in Palu,
Donggala and other sites hit by the disaster. UNICEF Indonesia, in partnership with the government, is doing everything it can to respond to this emergency.”
A spokesman for the Red Cross tells WHO that teams in Indonesia are engaged in the grisly work of recovering bodies for a dignified burial. Meanwhile in Australia, the Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to help those impacted by the earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi.
Director of International Programs at Australian Red Cross Peter Walton says: “It is still too early to know the full extent of the humanitarian impact, however a picture is starting to emerge of extremely high humanitarian need. We are very concerned for those who have lost loved ones and for those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.
“We appeal to all Australians to spare a thought for the people impacted by this terrible tragedy in Sulawesi. We urge people to dig deep and support our appeal to fund relief supplies for those that have lost everything in this dreadful disaster.”
- By Katherine Davison, Stephen Downie and Clare Rigden
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