PALU, Indonesia — Trucks carrying food for desperate survivors of the earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island rolled in with a police escort Tuesday to guard against looters, while the death toll from the disaster soared past 1,200. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help. Many gas stations were inoperable either because of quake damage or from people stealing fuel, Nugroho said. More aid was being distributed, but “we still need more time to take care of all the problems,” Nugroho said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government has given $360,000 to help victims and is in talks with Indonesian authorities about a second round of aid.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 02, 2018 15:45 UTC