PALU: Rescuers struggled on Sunday to reach victims in several coastal towns in Indonesia that were hit by an earthquake and tsunami, and authorities feared that the death toll of 832 would further rise.

With the area largely cut off by damaged roads and downed communications lines, military and commercial aircraft were delivering some aid and supplies to the hard-hit city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, and others in the region.

But there was a desperate need for heavy equipment to reach possible survivors buried in collapsed buildings, including an eight-storey hotel in Palu where voices were heard in the rubble. A 25-year-old woman was found alive during the evening in the ruins of the Roa-Roa Hotel, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency, which released photos of the woman lying on a stretcher covered in a blanket.

At least 832 people have been killed since the quake and tsunami had struck on Friday evening, Indonesia’s disaster agency said, with nearly all of the victims from Palu. The regencies of Donggala, Sigi and Parigi Moutong with a combined population of 1.2 million had yet to be fully assessed.

“The death toll is believed to be still increasing, since many bodies were still under the wreckage, while many have not been reached,” said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Rescuers struggle to reach victims in coastal towns

Bodies covered in blue and yellow tarps lined the streets of Palu, and officials said they were digging a mass grave for at least 300 of them.

It was not immediately known when the burial would take place, but “this must be done as soon as possible for health and religious reasons”, said Willem Rampangilei, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Most of Palu’s residents are Muslim.

The cries from beneath the Roa-Roa Hotel, which appeared to have toppled over with its walls splintered like pickup sticks, went silent by Sunday afternoon. Officials had estimated that about 50 people could be inside.

“We are trying our best. Time is so important here to save people,” said Muhammad Syaugi, head of the national search and rescue team. “Heavy equipment is on the way.”

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo toured Palu on Sunday and said rescuers were having difficulty reaching victims due to a shortage of heavy equipment.

“There are many challenges,” Mr Jokowi said. “We have to do many things soon, but conditions do not allow us to do so.” He said the authorities were deploying more heavy machinery so emergency workers could help recover more victims Monday.

The affected areas also needed medical supplies, fuel, fresh water and experts.

The city is built around a narrow bay that apparently magnified the force of the tsunami as the waves raced into the tight inlet. Nugroho, the disaster agency spokesman, said waves were reported as high as 20 feet in some places.

Looters hit a badly damaged shopping mall, apparently unconcerned for their safety amid ongoing aftershocks and the structure’s questionable stability.

In one devastated area in Palu, residents said dozens of people could still be buried in their homes. With hundreds injured, earthquake-damaged hospitals were overwhelmed.

Nugroho said 61 foreigners were in Palu at the time of the disaster. Most were accounted for, but one South Korean was believed to be trapped in the Roa-Roa Hotel, while three others from France and one from Malaysia were missing. The survivors were to be evacuated to the Sulawesi city of Makassar in the island’s far south.

Indonesia is a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands spanning a distance that would stretch from New York to London. It is home to 260 million people. Roads and infrastructure are poor in many areas, making access difficult in the best of conditions.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2018