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Toll Tops to 800 in Indonesia Quake, Tsunami

by Reuters

   The toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia soared Sunday to
   832 confirmed dead, with authorities fearing it will only climb as
   rescuers struggle to reach outlying communities cut off from
   communications and help.

   Dozens of people were reported to be trapped in the rubble of two
   hotels and a mall in the city of Palu, which was hit by waves as high
   as six meters (20 feet) following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake Friday.

   A young woman was pulled alive from the rubble of the Roa Roa Hotel,
   the news website Detik.com reported. Hotel owner Ko Jefry told Metro TV
   Saturday that up to 60 people were believed trapped. Hundreds of people
   gathered at the mall searching for loved ones.

   "We've got information from people that their relatives are still
   inside, so we're focusing on that, especially to find survivors," a
   rescuer identified as Yusuf, working at the ruins of the mall, told
   Metro TV.

   Bracing for more casualties

   With most of the confirmed deaths from Palu, authorities are bracing
   for much worse as reports filter in from outlying areas, in particular,
   Donggala, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and closer to the
   epicenter of the quake, and two other districts.

   Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the toll could rise into the thousands.

   National disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told
   a news conference the affected area was bigger than initially thought,
   though rescuers only had good access to one of four affected districts:
   Palu.

   "We haven't received reports from the three other areas. Communication
   is still down, power is still out. We don't know for sure what is the
   impact," he said.

   "There are many areas where the search and rescue teams haven't been
   able to reach," Nugroho said, adding that teams needed heavy equipment
   to move broken concrete.

   Five foreigners, three French, one South Korean and one Malaysian, were
   among the missing, he said. The 832 fatalities included people crushed
   in collapsing buildings and swept to their death by tsunami waves.