Death toll in Sulawesi quake reaches 38

Death toll in Sulawesi quake reaches 38

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): More bodies were found on
Sunday in areas hit by Thursday's earthquake, and several people
made homeless by the quake in Central Sulawesi died of disease,
bringing the death toll to 38.

The secretary of the Banggai regency administration, M. Saleh
Akum, told The Jakarta Post he feared the number of casualties
would increase, particularly as a result of illnesses resulting
from poor sanitation in the shelters and a lack of doctors and
medicine.

Further complicating matters, the island has been blacked out
since the earthquake hit, he said.

"We urge the government to pay serious attention in handling
this matter, because the number of deceased is growing.

"We also call on the International Committee of the Red Cross
to help us," he said.

The secretary of the Natural Disaster Coordination Unit in
Luwuk Banggai regency, Imran Sunni, said search and rescue teams
were still looking for victims. However, he complained that a
lack of aircraft and land transportation was hampering the
humanitarian work.

The quake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, damaged
thousands of houses and buildings in villages across the eastern
tip of Sulawesi.

A tsunami up to six meters in height resulting from the quake
hit Luwuk and Peleng islands, forcing hundreds of residents to
flee.

Luwuk Banggai in mainland central Sulawesi, located some 94
kilometers northwest of the earthquake's epicenter in the Strait
of Peleng, was the hardest hit.

Separately, Deputy Governor Kiesman Abdullah expressed anger
over the central government's sluggishness in providing aid to
the victims. He said rescue teams needed additional
transportation to evacuate residents, apart from the KRI
Multatuli warship which was provided by the Navy.

An official from the Banggai islands administration, Edison
Ogotan, told Antara news agency destroyed roads were hampering
the local government's effort to distribute food and medicine to
refugees.(27/01)