Indonesia disaster death toll climbs to 1,763

Published On: October 7, 2018 02:00 PM NPT By: Associated Press

A sign “Pray for Petobo” is placed on a piece of a road on Saturday Oct. 6, 2018 after it moved when earthquake hit Petobo neighborhood in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia last week. Search teams pulled bodies from obliterated neighborhoods in the disaster-stricken Indonesian city of Palu on Saturday as more aid rolled in and the government said it was considering making devastated areas into mass graves. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

PALU, Oct 7: Indonesia’s disaster agency says the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi island has risen to 1,763, with more than 5,000 feared missing.

Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says officials are trying to confirm the number still missing in several villages obliterated when the quake caused loose soil to liquefy, sucking houses into deep mud and burying occupants.

He provided the updated figure Sunday at a news conference in Jakarta.

The twin disasters struck Palu and surrounding districts in Central Sulawesi province on Sept. 28