The death toll of an earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian city of Palu has hit 1,700 and Calgary’s Indonesian community is coming together to support the victims of the crisis.
On September 28, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and an accompanying tsunami.
The disaster has smashed homes and businesses, cut off communications and made a number of roads completely impassable.
Indonesia’s disaster agency says the toll has reached 1,763 dead, but fears that more than 5,000 others could be missing.
In Calgary, two members of the Canadian Indonesian Social Club are watching the scenes of horror from the region.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking because people did not have time to save themselves,” said Swani Sidharta.
Sidharta has lived in Calgary for the past 11 years and her family is relatively safe on another island in the region, but she says she still feels for the victims of this latest disaster.
“There is no connection at all. That’s the thing that I heard; no connection, no communication and even though I don’t have relatives in the affected areas, I can feel those people who have relatives there are so worried.”
Sidharta and her friend Christma Nathali are doing what they can to gather support for the victims by putting on a fundraising event later this month.
“We want to help our friends, our family and we are capable to help them,” Nathali says.
The fundraiser, called Go White for Palu, is scheduled to take place on October 21, at Calgary’s Chinese Cultural Centre from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
On Wednesday, the United Nations estimated that about 200,000 people in the region are in need of help and authorized $15M in funding for relief efforts.
(With files from Ina Sidhu and The Associated Press)
