Indonesia Suffers a Series of Earthquakes

Thousands have been pronounced dead with several thousand still missing after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami in Indonesia on Friday, September 28, 2018. A series of small yet powerful quakes have since occurred throughout Indonesia and other neighboring countries.

Immediately after the island of Sulawesi was hit with the monstrous quake, tsunami waves estimated to be 20 feet tall rushed into the coastal city of Palu, causing significant damage. Schools, homes, and government buildings were demolished as mountains of debris and thick mud covered the island. Rescue workers have reported approximately two thousand people dead with five thousand still missing.

Just two weeks after the disasters in Sulawesi, another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 hit the Indonesian peninsula in East Java and Bali on Thursday, October 10. There have been at least three fatalities reported in Java Village since Thursday morning, with rescuers still searching.

Indonesian officials recently extended their search for survivors by two weeks. The extensive damage to the environment has made it difficult for search parties to locate victims of the quake. Liquefaction has caused thick mud erosion to move throughout cities, churning like ocean waves, burying people in its path.

Sutopo Purow Nugroho, the spokesman of Indonesia’s natural disaster agency program, stated in a news conference that reconstruction is expected to begin in 2019, lasting through 2020. A full recovery is expected by 2021.  

The United Nations estimates that there are at least 200,000 people still in great need of help along with 1,500 children separated from their families. Various organizations are accepting donations and care packages for families greatly affected by the disasters. Indonesia accumulated approximately $37 million in donations from eighteen different countries for disaster relief before ordering foreign search rescuers to leave, declining their help in an attempt to remain independent.  

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Logyn Beckwith of  Damascus High School