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)