PALU, Indonesia — Rescue officials feared the full scale of Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami could climb far past the more than 800 already confirmed dead, as several large coastal towns remained cut off Sunday by damaged roads and downed communication lines. Unable to move her legs under the heavy concrete rubble, Nurul Istikharah was trapped beside her dead mother and niece. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Palu, which has more than 380,000 people, was strewn with debris from the earthquake and tsunami. In one devastated area in Palu, residents said dozens of people could still be buried under homes that collapsed.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 30, 2018 15:56 UTC