Indonesian devastation to become clearer as rescuers push out to remote areas
Aftershocks are stoking fear, anger is simmering, and desperate survivors are looting shops
Palu — The extent of the devastation caused by an earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi should become clearer on Tuesday as rescuers push into remote areas that have been out of contact for more than three days. Officials fear the death toll will rise into the thousands. Indonesia has said it will accept offers of international aid, having shunned outside help earlier this year when an earthquake struck the island of Lombok. The number of confirmed deaths stood at 844 on Tuesday, most of them in Palu, the main city in the disaster zone, where rescuers were hunting for victims in the ruins. Power has yet to be restored in the area and access by land to outlying villages has been disrupted by broken roads, landslides and downed bridges. Aftershocks have rattled jangled nerves. A 5.9 magnitude quake struck earlier on Tuesday near the southern island of Flores, hundreds of kilometres from Sulawesi, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of c...
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