“The Indonesian Red Cross is racing to help survivors but we don’t know what they’ll find there,” Gelfand said.
“This is already a tragedy, but it could get much worse.”
With Palu airport closed, relief workers have to make their way there by road. Sulawesi is one of the biggest islands in the world and the drive from the nearest airport is around 10-12 hours.
Families mourn hundreds killed
Hundreds of families are already mourning the loss of their loved ones, including an air traffic controller who’s been hailed as a hero.
Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, died in the hospital after he jumped off the traffic control tower at the Palu airport when he thought the tower was collapsing.
Authorities have said the number of victims is expected to rise as families identify their relatives among the bodies recovered.
A massive quake
The horrific scene began Friday when a series of tremors rocked Sulawesi and a 7.5 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that sent waves of “about three meters high” to the beaches of Palu and Donggala, officials said.
An early tsunami warning had been issued by the Indonesian meteorological agency, but was later lifted after the agency ascertained that the water had receded.
The quakes come a month after a trio of earthquakes hit several islands in the South Pacific and Indonesia, including Lombok, which is still recovering from the effects of an August 5 earthquake that killed more than 430 people.
UM– USEKE.RW
