Temporary shelters for displaced people, set up after the earthquake and tsunami in the village of Balaroa, are still in use. (Photo: AFP)Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia on September 28 marked one year since adevastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami smashed the city of Palu, killing more than 4,000 people.
A mass prayeris scheduled later on the dayto remember the victims ofthe 7.5-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami that razed the coastal city onSulawesi island last September.
The force ofthe impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled by liquefaction – a process wherethe ground starts behaving like a liquid and swallows up the earth likequicksand.
According tothe Red Cross, about 4,300 people were killed and went missing after the twin disasters while nearly 60,000 people are stillliving in temporary accommodation after their homes were destroyed.
The disastersalso destroyed fishing boats, shops and irrigation systems, robbing locals oftheir incomes.
Hundreds ofdamaged schools have not been repaired as they are so badly affected that theyremain too dangerous to use, forcing children to learn in temporary classroomswhere they have to attend in shifts due to a lack of space, according to theSave the Children.
The World Bankhas offered the country up to 1 billion USD in loans to help rebuild Palu city.
Indonesia, oneof the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the Pacific “Ring ofFire”, where tectonic plates collide and large portion of the world’s volcaniceruptions and earthquakes occur.
Last year, thecountry suffered from 11,600 earthquakes./.
VNA
