From Truthdig –
The official death toll [as of 28th Sept] stood at 384, with all the fatalities coming in the hard-hit city of Palu, but it was expected to rise once rescuers reached surrounding coastal areas, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said others were unaccounted for, without giving an estimate. The nearby cities of Donggala and Mamuju were also ravaged, but little information was available due to damaged roads and disrupted telecommunications.
Some of the injured, including Dwi Haris, who suffered a broken back and shoulder, rested outside Palu’s Army Hospital, where patients were being treated outdoors due to continuing strong aftershocks. Tears filled his eyes as he recounted feeling the violent earthquake shake the fifth-floor hotel room he shared with his wife and daughter.
“There was no time to save ourselves. I was squeezed into the ruins of the wall, I think,” said Haris, adding that the family was in town for a wedding. “I heard my wife cry for help, but then silence. I don’t know what happened to her and my child. I hope they are safe.”
[…]
Nina, a 23-year-old woman […], was working at a laundry service shop not far from the beach when the quake hit. She said the quake destroyed her workplace, but she managed to escape and quickly went home to get her mother and younger brother.
“We tried to find shelter, but then I heard people shouting, ‘Water! Water!’” she recalled, crying. “The three of us ran, but got separated. Now I don’t know where my mother and brother are. I don’t know how to get information. I don’t know what to do.”
And from Stuff –
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN officials were in contact with Indonesian authorities and “stand ready to provide support as required”.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Winston Peters is due to visit the region next week.
He was already scheduled to visit Thailand and Indonesia from Monday.
“The Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami will obviously be a current concern for the Indonesian government. My visit will be an opportunity to personally express the condolences of New Zealand for the loss of life, and to discuss any potential assistance,” said Peters.
New Zealand Red Cross spokeswoman Gemma Snowdon said Indonesia Red Cross well-trained disaster response teams had been sent to the affected areas. The teams had taken relief supplies, such as blankets and sleeping mats.
It has set up an appeal on its website [can’t find it] that people can donate to. [I can’t find any specific appeal on the NZ site either , so have linked to their general “Emergency Appeals” page]
Indonesia Red Cross will be able to access most of the emergency supplies it needs within Indonesia, she said, so the best way people in New Zealand can help is by donating money.
Unicef New Zealand communications director Lachlan Forsyth said it needed to be asked for help by the Indonesian government before it could offer aid.
Officials in Indonesia would have gone through the damage on Saturday to get an accurate idea of its extent and he expected a request to come in overnight on Saturday or on Sunday. Once that had been received fundraising would begin.
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