People search for victims on the debris of houses in Petobo village after earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Iqbal Lubis)
JAKARTA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Indonesia's multiple earthquakes and an ensuing tsunami jumped to 1,407 on Wednesday, the country's disaster management agency said.
Most of the dead were recovered in Palu, the provincial capital.
Search and rescue operations are underway with more rescuers and equipment joining in the mission, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Soldiers, police, government personnel and volunteers flocked in the catastrophe-rattled areas to join a total of 6,399 rescuers already on the spot, and are rushing to retrieve victims under the ruins, he said.
The quakes that triggered a tsunami destroyed 2,403 houses, according to a satellite image, while a total of 362 aftershocks with 12 of them felt occurred after the main shock, said Sutopo.
The natural disaster forced a total of 70,821 people to flee their homes and take shelter in camps or under tarpaulins in 141 spots. So far, not all of the basic needs has been provided, he said.
The spokesman also said the country's tsunami warning systems needed urgent repair.
Indonesia had installed a series of tsunami warning systems across the archipelagic country, home to over 17,500 islands. But since 2012, the devices have not been functioning, and many of them were vandalized or stolen, said the spokesman.
He hinted the urgency to get the devices resume operation.
"Should the devices installed at the sea surface be vulnerable on vandalism, we can install them under the seabed. We have experts on that," he said.
"A total of 148.4 million people (in Indonesia) settle in quake vulnerable areas, and as many as 3.8 million others live in areas vulnerable on tsunami strike," said Sutopo.
So far, Indonesia only relies on five buoys installed by foreign countries for tsunami warnings.
They included one unit owned by India installed in waters west of Aceh province of northern tip of Sumatra Island, one unit owned by Thailand installed in Adaman sea, two units owned by Australia installed in waters south of Sumba island, and another unit near Papua province owned by the United States, said Sutopo.
Eastern Indonesia is vulnerable to graver risks of quakes and tsunamis as it lies on an area where three plates of Indo-Australia, Eurasia and Pacific meet, according to Sutopo.
Powerful and shallow earthquakes of 6.0, 7.4 and 6.1 magnitude and an ensuing tsunami devastated the province with the hardest-hit area in Palu, the provincial capital and Donggala district last Friday.
The tsunami with the height of 0.5 to 3 meters devastated coastal areas near Talisa beach in Palu city and Donggala district.
Regarding foreign relief aid offers, the spokesman said out of a total of 26 offers by different countries, 17 were approved by the Indonesian government as they meet the emergency relief needs.
Four international organizations also offered aids, according to him.
Among the dire needed are aircrafts to transport aid materials, generators, tents, and water purifiers, according to the spokesman.
