Volcano erupts on quake-hit Indonesian island
PALU (AP) — For some who survived the massive earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island last week, the memories and the horror from a disaster that has left more than 1,400 people dead are both hard to erase and understand. Nature simply unleashed its fury on them.
Furniture maker Khairul Hassan recalled working at a shop near the beach in front of a row of warehouses when the Earth began shaking violently last week. He ran to a nearby hill and watched as the ocean heaved up and hurled forward. Now he can’t forget.
“I saw the waves come and sweep out everything — buildings, factories, warehouses and some people who were lost, racing from the waves, some of them women and children,” he said Wednesday. “Also, warehouse workers who were trapped under goods, all swept by the sea. It’s so tragic. It’s so scary to remember.”
The official death toll increased to 1,407, with thousands injured and more than 70,000 displaced from their homes, said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said the number of dead would increase, but that rescue crews had reached all affected areas.
Aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the twin disasters, with one neighborhood’s residents clapping, cheering and high-fiving in their excitement yesterday at seeing a stopped truck laden with supplies.
“I’m so happy,” said Heruwanto, 63, who goes by one name. He was clutching a box of instant noodles. “I really haven’t eaten for three days.”
Food, water, fuel and medicine was still slow to reach the hardest-hit areas outside Palu, the largest city heavily damaged in Friday’s disaster. Many roads were broken and split by the violent shaking or blocked by debris. Communications remained limited.
The UN humanitarian office said “needs are vast,” with people urgently requiring shelter, clean water, food, fuel and emergency medical care.
Meanwhile, a volcano erupted yesterday morning in another part of Sulawesi island, about 940 kilometers, northeast of the earthquake zone, spitting a plume of ash more than 20,680 feet into the sky. Planes were warned of the cloud billowing from Mt. Soputan because the material can be hazardous for aircraft engines, but no evacuations were ordered in the area.
Experts said it’s possible the quake accelerated the eruption, but there is no concrete evidence to prove that.
At the quake zone, water is the main issue because most of the supply infrastructure has been damaged, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. He said the government was coordinating emergency efforts, and that UN and relief agencies were on the ground or en route.
More than 25 countries offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help.
Widodo visited the disaster zone yesterday, saying there’s still work to be done, but that conditions were improving with businesses starting to reopen, helping people to start returning their lives to normal. He said President Donald Trump called him Tuesday night, offering assistance.