Quake survivors struggle with slow arrival of aid
PALU, INDONESIA — Climbing over reeking piles of sodden food and debris, a crowd on Wednesday searched a warehouse wrecked in Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami for anything they could salvage: cans of condensed milk, soft drinks, rice, candy and painkillers.
A trickle of emergency aid is only now reaching parts of Sulawesi island, five days after the destructive quake that killed more than 1,400 people, and some increas- ingly desperate survivors are taking matters into their own hands.
“We came here because we heard there was food,” said Rehanna, a 23-yearold student, wearing a red motorcycle helmet. “We need clean water, rice.”
Elsewhere in the hardhit city of Palu, residents clapped and cheered as they swarmed a truck that was finally delivering aid.
“I’m so happy,” said Heruwanto, clutching a box of instant noodles. The 63-year- old man, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, added: “I really haven’t eaten for three days.”
Indonesian authorities have been struggling to get relief to survivors who have been left without food, water, fuel and medicine after Friday’s magnitude 7.5 quake and tsunami that smashed homes and busi- nesses, downed communications and made roads impassable on Sulawesi.
The official death toll rose to 1,407 on Wednesday, with thousands injured and more than 70,000 displaced, 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.
The Sulawesi coastline spreading out from Palu was a surreal landscape of debris, beached boats, over- turned cars and the founda- tions of obliterated houses. Wrecked houses still stand- ing were spray painted with appeals for aid. The wall of one dwelling was scrawled with the message: “Help us Mr. President.”
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited the disaster zone Wednesday for a sec- ond time, saying there’s still work to be done, but that conditions were improving.
“We are going in phases. There are lots of things hap- pening related to evacua- tion, as aid and fuel are also coming in,” he said, noting that 30 people remain bur- ied under rubble at the Roa Roa Hotel in Palu.
The U.N. estimated that some 200,000 people need assistance, announcing a $15 million allocation to bolster relief efforts.
Australia said it will send 50 medical professionals as part of a $3.6 million aid package. The U.N. said the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs has asked UNICEF to send social workers to support vulnerable children who are alone or became sepa- rated from their families.
Some homeless residents weren’t waiting for help. Besides those searching for food, dozens of others combed a flattened com- plex of warehouses along Palu’s ravaged coast for anything they could sell or use to rebuild homes.
They included all ages, middle class and poor, university students and sullen young men.
“We have to do this because there’s no assistance from the government,” said Zaitun Rajamangili, 41, adding that his home was swept away but his family survived.
Separately, a volcano erupted on another part of seismically active Sulawesi island, about 585 miles north- east of the disaster zone.