Tsunami recovery effort to take two years on Indonesian island

THE recovery effort from the twin earthquake and tsunami disaster on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is expected to take two years, the country’s vice-president warned yesterday.

On a visit to Palu, the ground zero of last Friday’s tragedy, Jusuf Kalla said that the relief efforts would begin with a two-month emergency response phase when everyone who lost their house would get temporary shelter.

It came as Buckingham Palace revealed the Queen had made a private donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for survivors. The appeal was launched on Thursday and raised £6million within a day.

Thousands of people are currently living under tarpaulin sheets after their homes were either flattened or out of fear that broken infrastructure could collapse in an aftershock. More than 70,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. As the death toll rose to 1,649, Mr Kalla warned that the vast number of unrecovered bodies could pose a health hazard, particularly in the areas of Petobo and Balaroa, which were all but obliterated by the quake and liquefaction which softened the ground and sucked buildings underneath. “Most of the bodies we have found are not intact and that poses a danger for the rescuers. We have to be very careful to avoid contamination,” he told AFP.

In the village of Jono Oje, a young man called Aco watched sadly as residents picked off debris from a collapsed workshop with their bare hands. “I’m certain my mother is under there,” he said. “But we haven’t had any help.”

The United Nations has said it is seeking $50.5million (£38.5million) for “immediate relief ” to help 191,000 survivors. Government and international aid, including 17.5 tons of shelter and hygiene kits from the UK, has now started to slowly filter through.

The British Government has also announced it will match pound-forpound the first £2million raised by the public in the tsunami appeal. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, survivors have had to rely on their own ingenuity to meet their daily needs.

Solisti Wati, 30, a midwife from the Sigi province, told The Sunday Telegraph she had organised a shelter for homeless residents while dealing with the tragedy of losing her husband’s father and sister. “There hasn’t been any government aid yet, so I’ve been appealing to people whose homes have not collapsed to donate to those who have lost theirs,” she said.