Disaster tsunami disaster in Indonesia: Number of victims killed nearly 1,600 people

On October 4, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNBP) confirmed the number of victims killed in earthquakes and tsunamis in Central Sulawesi province increased to 1,558 people. Many people believe that this number will increase significantly.

In the town of Balaroa and Petobo village, search and rescue teams move slowly through the rubble."We think about 2,000 people were killed here," said Hasbin Basri, an official at Balaroa.

The scene of the double disaster in Indonesia.(Photo: Reuters).

A team of assessing victims of earthquake and tsunami in the hospital has been working continuously for the past 6 days to identify more than 700 bodies by fingerprints, teeth or special signs. However, this process was stopped on October 4 because the number of victims increased too fast.

A sign at the hospital entrance informs that from now on all bodies will be taken directly to the mass grave.

More than 7,000 houses were destroyed by earthquakes, tsunamis and liquefied soil in Sulawesi.

The road between the town of Donggala and Pula is a scene of ruin, with houses, hotels, shops all dilapidated, cars turning between garbage. The cleanup work has not yet begun because rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors.

Families sitting by houses collapsed, reluctant to abandon damaged property. Their children took the boxes to the cars passing by, asking the driver to stop supporting the family.

Arif, a motorbike driver, stands by the ruins of the house where he lives with his wife and five children."I don't know what to do. We just need help. If we get help we will start rebuilding our lives , " he said.

Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire - home to the most tectonic activity in the world, a place full of majestic volcanoes and fertile land, but 260 million people of this country are very vulnerable to earthquakes. , tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

A major earthquake in 2004 triggered a tsunami that left 220,000 people in the region, including 168,000 people in Indonesia, killed.