Indonesia: Death toll from quake-tsunami hits 1,763; over 5,000 missing
Indonesia is still reeling from the tragic twin disaster that struck on September 28. As per latest reports, as many as 5,000 people are feared missing from Indonesia's Palu city as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation. So far, 1,763 bodies have been recovered. However, there are fears that thousands more could have perished. Here are the details.
Palu city could contain thousands of more victims
The 5,000 missing people suggest that many more could have perished in the disaster than the current death toll indicates. Officials fear that thousands of victims could emerge from the Palu city neighborhoods of Petobo and Balaroa, where the shaking ground had engulfed entire communities. The search for the missing will continue till October 11, after which they will be declared missing/presumed dead.
Much of Petobo and Balaroa was sucked into the ground
Much of Petobo, a cluster of villages in Palu, was sucked into the ground as powerful vibrations from the earthquake turned the soil into quicksand in a process known as liquefaction. Balaroa suffered a similar fate wherein a massive government housing complex was engulfed by the earth. Rescuers have had a hard time extracting bodies from the mess. It's feared that thousands lie entombed.
Current toll is a five-fold increase over initial estimates
The latest data about the number of missing is a five-fold increase over initial estimates, which had predicted that around 1,000 people had been buried beneath Palu city in the disaster. It has been 10 days since the twin disasters hit Indonesia, and officials say that it would be a "miracle" to find anyone among the missing alive now.
