Indonesia Earthquake; “Every minute an ambulance brings in bodies, minimarkets are looted everywhere”, says a survivor
The large-scale damaged occurred by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia on Friday evening has claimed more than 800 lives till date and the death toll is believed to rise as many bodies were still stuck under the debris.
Between the rescue work carried out on the coastal towns of Indonesia, a 35 year old helpless mother living in evacuation centre was very tense as she is continuously witnessing ambulance bringing dead bodies.
She said that “It feels very tense. Every minute an ambulance brings in bodies. Clean water is scarce. The minimarkets are looted everywhere”.
The higher officials were in fear that the number of dead people may rise to thousands as many regions are still not in the reach of the saviours due to the damaged roads and cut out communications lines.
A massive grave was dug to rest more than 300 dead bodies in Palu and they were covered with the blue or yellow strips. According to Willem Rampangilei, head of Indonesia’s National disaster agency, the burial “must be done as soon as possible for health and religious reasons”.
The coastal area of Donggala in Indonesia was affected badly as many houses were crushed down and the residents fled to the higher grounds after the earthquake. One of the residents said, “When it shook really hard, we all ran up into the hills”.
commercial and military aircrafts of Indonesia have taken the immediate steps to deliver first-hand aid and supplies to those stranded on the hard-hit city of Palu.
Jokowi Widodo, Indonesia’s president visited the most affected by the earthquake and said the rescue operation was delayed due to the shortcoming of the heavy equipment.
He said, “There are many challenges. We have to do things soon, but conditions do not allow us to do so”.
Indonesia was known to be the earthquake-prone area as it is frequently struck by the earthquake, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to the location on the ring of fire
