REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Friday's Donggala-Palu earthquake and tsunami resulted in more than 70,821 people becoming refugees, National Disaster Management Agency's Head for Data, Information, and Public Relations Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho stated. Meanwhile, the death toll from Friday's Donggala-Palu earthquake and tsunami has risen to 1,407.
"As many as 70,821 people became temporary refugees in 141 locations across Palu, Donggala, Sigi, and the region," Nugroho noted in a press conference here on Wednesday.
Among the refugees were 2,549 people, who suffered severe injuries and were treated at several hospitals. The people affected by the earthquake and tsunami who fled to the hills then moved to evacuation points.
"The evacuation points will increase, as not all of them have been recorded," he explained.
Some 152 people are still buried under the debris and mud in Petobo, Sigi, and Balaroa, while 113 are missing, he stated. "The disasters damaged 65,733 homes," he stated.
A total of 1,273 military and police personnel arrived in Palu City, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday to help accelerate the evacuation of earthquake victims in the province.
Indonesian Defense Forces spokesman Col. Sus Taibur Rahman remarked in a press statement that the personnel arrived aboard Indonesian warship KRI Makassar-590 at Pantoloan Pier. KRI Makassar-590 also brought 360 volunteers along with 25 trucks, 17 small vehicles, three ambulances, one weight lift, one crane unit, and 46 motorbikes.
In addition, KRI Makassar-590 transported logistics assistance to be distributed to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Palu City and Donggala District, Central Sulawesi.
The logistics included 12 tons of rice, 456 boxes of instant noodles, 64 bags of clothing, 33 bags of food sacks, 212 boxes of snacks, 15 bales of tarps, 441 LPG tubes of 12 kg capacity, 70 LPG tubes of 50 kg capacity, a box of medicines, and five water-storage reservoirs.