384 Killed In Indonesia Quake, Tsunami
Jakarta, Sep 29 : Over 380 people were confirmed dead on Saturday after earthquakes, including a powerful 7.5 magnitude tremor, and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Rescue workers were struggling to reach certain affected areas amid fears that the toll can still rise.
Three hundred-eighty four people died in the city of Palu, where preparations for a beach festival had been underway when the tsunami hit on Friday, following the strong earthquake. National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that 540 people were injured and 29 were still missing.
Video on social media showed people screaming and fleeing in panic for safety. Thousands of homes collapsed, along with hospitals, hotels and shopping centres. Strong aftershocks continued to rock Palu on Saturday.
Sutopo said houses were swept away and families were reported missing. "We have found corpses from the earthquake as well as bodies swept up by the tsunami."
He said the government was set to declare a state of emergency and stressed that the most important task was to restore power and communications to the region.
There were other vulnerable coastal areas where communications were down. Officials had been unable to make contact with Donggala, a fishing community near Palu that was also reported to have been hit by the tsunami, the BBC reported.
The BNPB spokesperson said telecommunications and air-transport experts arrived at the airport in Palu, the city most affected by the earthquake along with Donggala, and work to repair some of the damaged electrical equipment had started.
The airports in Poso, Tolitoli, Luwuk and Mamuju were open.
Komang Adi Sujendra, the Director of Undata Hospital in Palu, said in a video message posted online said that the area had no electricity, that phone and Internet service had been disrupted and that road access was limited. He sought help from the public.
Authorities estimated the tsunami's waves to be about 10 feet high, but a video reported to have been taken in Palu showed a wave that seemed even higher crashing over the roofs of one-storey buildings. TV footage showed dozens of injured people being treated outside in makeshift medical tents.
Palu and Donggala are home to more than 600,000 people. The country's military had started sending cargo planes of relief aid from the capital.
The earthquake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km on Friday, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour.
A magnitude-6.1 quake earlier on Friday in the same region killed at least one person and led to the collapse of a number of buildings.
The disaster followed on from the earthquakes and aftershocks on Lombok island where 557 people died and nearly 400,000 were displaced between July 29 and August 19.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity, where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.
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Political row in Bengal after 104-year-old man put under 'adjudication category' in electoral rolls
Kolkata (PTI): A 104-year-old man has complained of being listed in the "under adjudication" category in the final electoral rolls issued by the Election Commission following the SIR exercise in West Bengal on February 28, officials said on Wednesday.
Sheikh Ibrahim, a resident of Jamalpur gram panchayat in Purba Bardhaman district, said he has voted in every election since India’s first general polls after Independence and had never faced such an experience.
"Is it a crime to live beyond 100 years? I have always believed in casting votes and exercising my democratic rights. Why can't I vote this time? This is my country," he said.
His 70-year-old son said that after his father was called for a hearing at camps "due to some logical discrepancies as claimed by the EC," EC officials later visited their residence, and all necessary documents were submitted.
"The EC official who conducted the hearing expressed satisfaction and assured his name will be in the rolls. However, after the final rolls were published, we found his name listed ‘under adjudication category.’ We fail to comprehend why," his son said.
Flagging the matter, the TMC alleged on X that "104-year-old Sheikh Ibrahim, who was born in pre-Independent India and has voted in every election since the first general elections, was summoned for a hearing and subjected to harassment after being included in the ‘under adjudication’ list."
"Can you imagine the extent of harassment he has faced? How much lower will the Commission stoop?" the party asked.
"Do they think they can gift Bengal to the BJP by deleting names of valid voters even before the elections? It is not that easy. Bengal knows how to respond, and it knows how to fight," the post read.
There was no immediate response from the EC or the BJP to the allegations.
