Damaged roads and bridges, Blackouts A shortage of heavy equipment hampered Saturday rescue men distance Strong earthquake It left at least 46 dead and hundreds injured Indonesia Sulawesi Island.
Cedar Rahmanjaya, head of the local search and rescue agency, said operations were concentrated on about eight locations in the worst-affected city of Mamuju, where people are believed to be still trapped in the wake of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake early Friday.
At least 34 dead in Indonesia earthquake
Shipping plans Pregnancy foodThe tents, blankets and other supplies landed from Jakarta late Friday to be distributed in makeshift shelters. Thousands of people still spend the night outdoors, fearing potential aftershocks Tsunami.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokeswoman Raditya Jati said Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of 37 victims in Mamuju and nine in the neighboring Magene district.
At least 415 homes in Mageny have been damaged, Gatti said, and 15,000 people have been moved to shelters.
The bodies recovered by rescuers were sent to A. Police Hospital West Sulawesi Police spokesperson Syamsu Ridwan said he was to identify the relatives.
He said that more than 200 people are receiving treatment at Baiyangkara Police Hospital and many others in Mamuju alone. The other 630 were Injured And Majin.
Among those rescued is a young girl trapped with her sister under the rubble of a house.
In a video tape released by the Disaster Prevention Agency on Friday, the girl was seen crying for help. She was being treated in the hospital.
She identified herself as Angel and said that her sister Catherine, who was not shown in the video, was next to her in the rubble and was still breathing.
An Indonesian soldier helps a woman carry her baby as she makes her way through an area damaged by an earthquake-induced landslide near Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, January 16, 2021 (AP Photo / Yusuf Wahil)
It is unclear what happened to Catherine and the other family members.
The earthquake triggered landslides in three locations and blocked a major road linking Mamuju to Majin. Power and telephone lines were disrupted in many areas.
Collapsed building debris littered Mamuju, the capital of West Sulawesi province, which has a population of 75,000. The earthquake almost destroyed an office building Shopping center It has been reduced to a curly structure. A large bridge collapsed and drip patients lay on foldable beds under tarpaulin tents outside one of the affected hospitals.
Two hospitals in the city were damaged, while two others were hit by pressure.
Several survivors said aid has not yet arrived due to damaged roads and disrupted communications.
Video from Prof. TV station Villagers in Majin, some with machetes, showed to forcibly stop the vehicles carrying aid. They boarded a truck and threw boxes of instant noodles and other supplies at dozens of people who were scrambling to get them.
Residents inspect the ruins of a building destroyed by an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, January 16, 2021 (AP Photo / Yusuf Wahil)
Two ships headed to the stricken areas of the neighboring cities of Makassar and Balikpapan with rescuers and equipment, including excavators.
State-owned AirNav Indonesia, which oversees aviation, said the quake did not cause significant damage Mamuju Airport Amphitheater or watchtower.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Friday that he had instructed his cabinet ministers and the disaster and Military officials To coordinate response.
In a telegram sent by the Vatican on behalf of Pope FrancisThe Pope expressed his „sincere solidarity with all those affected by this natural disaster.“
Was the Pope Calling For the sake of „comforting the dead, healing the wounded and comforting all those who grieve.“ Francis also encouraged those who continued to search and rescue, and he invoked „the divine blessings of strength and hope.“
International humanitarian missions, including the Water Mission, Save the Children and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in statements that they had joined efforts to provide relief to those in need.
Indonesia, home to more than 260 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the „Ring of Fire“, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific basin.
In 2018, Magnitude 7.5 earthquake In Palu, Sulawesi Island, it caused a tsunami and caused the soil to collapse in a phenomenon called liquefaction. More than 4,000 people were killed, including many who were buried when whole lives were swallowed up in the fallen ground.
A massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
