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PALU, Indonesia (Reuters) – Children in the Indonesian city of Palu started returning to school Monday to tidy up their classrooms and collect data on how many of them will come back 10 days later. the earthquake and tsunami that hit their city.
Agus Fardhan carries his mother's portrait after finding her at home in Palu, central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on October 7, 2018. REUTERS / Jorge Silva
The magnitude 7.5 earthquake of September 28 destroyed many buildings in the small town of Sulawesi, located 1,500 km northeast of Jakarta, as the waves of the tsunami crashed on the front sea.
But the most deadly was probably the liquefaction of the soil, which occurs when a powerful earthquake turns the soil into a liquid quagmire that clears several neighborhoods of Palu.
The official toll is 1,763, but the bodies are still recovering. Nobody knows how many people are missing, but at least by the hundreds.
In a state high school, teenagers dressed in gray and white uniforms swept the broken glass in the classrooms. The trophies had fallen from a broken school showcase and the basketball court was cracked.
"It's sad to see our school like this," said 17-year-old Dewi Rahmawati, who is hoping to graduate next year and wants to study economics at the university.
Students discovered that they had to get to school through messages on Facebook and WhatsApp.
School director Kasiludin said the authorities had ordered all teachers to report for work starting Monday to gather information on the number of students.
"We will not force students to come back because many are traumatized. But we must start again soon to keep up the morale and avoid being left behind, "he said.
The school has lost at least seven students and one teacher, he said.
GRAPHIC: Catastrophe in Sulawesi – tmsnrt.rs/2OqQlUo
POSITIVE THOUGHT
At SMP Negeri 15 Palu College, fewer than 50 out of 697 students showed up.
School principal Abdul Rashid said he was aware of the deaths of four students during the earthquake.
"The classes have not started. We only collect data to know how many students are safe, "he said.
"I'm still waiting for the Ministry of Education to give us instructions on how to start classes. For the moment, I do not think we are ready. Many children are traumatized and scared.
A boy who was chatting in school with some friends said he was disappointed to see that so few of his classmates had come forward.
"I want the school to start as soon as possible so that I can find out how my friends are doing," said Muhamad Islam Bintang Lima, wearing the school uniform of a white shirt and navy blue pants.
"I did not hear a lot of them. I want to think positively; I hope they are fine. "
Most of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami were in Palu, the main urban center of the region. The numbers for the more remote areas are arriving, but they seem to have suffered fewer deaths than the city.
Sulawesi is one of the five main islands of Indonesia. The archipelago is the scene of frequent earthquakes and occasional tsunamis.
In 2004, an earthquake on the island of Sumatra caused a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, claiming 226,000 lives in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
A spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said Sunday that body research would stop on Thursday.
Debris would be cleaned up and areas affected by liquefaction would be turned into parks, sports venues and other public spaces, the spokesman said.
GRAPHIC: Destruction at Palu – tmsnrt.rs/2IDFukK
Written by Robert Birsel; Edited by Paul Tait
