According to local police, there will be no more survivors beneath the ruins in Palu, where a 7.7-magnitude earthquake accompanied by tsunami happened last Friday. As the temperature is high and it rains often in the city, police are making all efforts to clear blocks and debris for fear of an outbreak of epidemics after the earthquake.
“We will pay attention to the epidemic. If (the clearing work) were delayed, epidemics would occur. So we must clear up the debris as quickly as possible,” said Rudys, commander of Jakarta police office.
Police said they were trying to finish the clearing working within three days, yet it is difficult as they are lacking fuel and heavy machines at present.
“As fuel supply is limited, the city could not run normally. Fuels we transported from other cities have arrived in succession as planned, yet it is hard to dispatch heavy machines,” said Rudys.
In shambles, it was easy to find the ruins of a hotel named Roa Roa which was utterly destroyed in the earthquake. This hotel had 76 rooms, with 50 rooms full then. It was terrible as the guests living in 26 rooms there were buried during the earthquake.
“When the earthquake struck, people were running for their lives. It happened all of a sudden,” said Jeffery Kho, owner of Roa Roa Hotel.
Displaced residents are worried as aftershocks continued to rumble.
In Donggala, another severely hit city, electricity, and water supplies were cut off. It is expected the supplies will resume within two weeks.