The first official figures speak of 400 dead, but the number could increase. The European Union was the first international organization to help the Asian country

The town of Palu, of 35 thousand inhabitants on the west coast of Celebes, was the main damaged after the chain of earthquakes and tsunami that hit Indonesia on September 28. The first official report reached 384 dead, so the spokesman for the disaster management agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, requested "personnel, volunteers, and specialized material," according to Infobae.

Leer en español: Terribles consecuencias dejan terremotos y tsunami en Indonesia

The natural disaster ended with buildings, houses, and hospitals. The first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5, according to the Geological Institute of the United States and registered a depth of 10 kilometers. The second telluric event had a magnitude of 6.1 and caused the death of one person and left 10 people injured.

"We think that tens or hundreds of victims have not yet been found in the rubble, Palu's main commercial center collapsed … The Rua-Rua hotel (…) sank, had 80 rooms and 76 were occupied," Purwo Nugroho said in statements compiled by Infobae.

The same article said that the hospitals that were not affected could not cope with so many victims and injured people, many of whom had to be transferred to health centers in nearby regions. The voracious natural attack unleashed hours later a tsunami with a height of 1.5 meters on the coast of Palu.

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Testimonials and damages

Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, announced that the army would be deployed to participate in search operations for victims in the area. A mall in Palu collapsed instantly, other images of international television showed roads and cracked sidewalks.

In turn, the agency Es-Us.Noticias reported 540 injured and 29 missing, according to the information provided by Purwo Nugroho at an emergency press conference held in Jakarta, adding that there were no official reports at that time of the town of Donggala, the closest to Palu.

The hospitals of Bhayangkara and Undata Mamboro had 161 and 141 deceased registered, according to the aforementioned agency. It was also reported that only the airports of Poso, Toli-Toli, Luwuk Bangai and Mamuju, located in the same region, are operating.

ABC added that the tsunami was recorded 80 kilometers south of the epicenter, after the announcement of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, which had issued the alert about waves that reached three meters. In spite of the terror, several witnesses of the tragedy recorded the moment in which the tsunami approached the Indonesian coast devastating everything and in the middle of the terror of those who saved their lives.

The prompt response of the European Union

Europa Press assured that the European Union (EU) offered help to Indonesia, after expressing its condolences for the tragedy. The gesture of solidarity came from Federica Mogherini, representative of the Foreign Policy of that organization and Christos Stylianides, commissioner of humanitarian aid, who expressed the following in a statement: "Hundreds of people have lost their lives after another disaster natural has hit Indonesia".

The aforementioned leaders expressed their general condolences in a "difficult moment", by means of a tribute to the emergency services that work "under very difficult conditions". The EU assistance was produced thanks to the Copernicus satellite system, which has a modern map service ready to mobilize more assistance if necessary and which is available to Indonesia, and can be followed closely by Mogherini and Stylianides.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano
Translated from “Terribles consecuencias dejan terremotos y tsunami en Palu, Indonesia”

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