The death toll in Indonesia’s twin quake-tsunami disaster passed 1,400 Wednesday, with time running out to rescue survivors and the UN warning of “vast” unmet needs that have fuelled looting. Survivors are battling thirst and hunger, with food and clean water in short supply, and local hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of injured.
indonesia earthquake
Latest in indonesia earthquake
earthquake today
Time running out for survivors as Indonesia toll nears 1,400
Almost 200,000 people need urgent help, the UN’s humanitarian office said, among them tens of thousands of children, with an estimated 66,000 homes destroyed or damaged by the 7.5-magnitude quake and the tsunami it spawned
Anthonius Gunawan Agung
Indonesian air traffic controller hailed as quake hero
Officials say Anthonius Gunawan Agung refused to leave his post until he got an Batik Air plane off the ground, while his colleagues who were not handling aircraft departed
earthquake today
In pictures: Hundreds killed in Indonesia quake-tsunami
Nearly 400 people were killed when a powerful quake sent a tsunami barrelling into the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, officials said Saturday, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region. The national disaster agency put the official death toll so far at 384, all of them in the tsunami-struck city of Palu, but warned the toll was likely to rise. Some 540 people have been badly injured, it added.