PALU, Indonesia, 1 October 2018;: Hit by by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and then a tsunami with waves more than 2 metres high, Palu on Sulawesi island faces the mammoth task of burying its dead, rescuing hundreds of survivors trapped in collapsed buildings and restoring basic services.
The death toll reached 832 on Sunday and government statements warn fatalities could exceed a thousand as rescue workers dig their way into buildings, a hotel and the town’s shopping mall that collapsed.
Considered an emerging tourist destination, tour operators were accounting for their guests in and around Palu to ensure they were all safe.
Roa Roa Hotel in the city was reduced to rubble with possibly more than 80 people trapped inside. Hotels such as Best Western Plus Coco, Swiss-Belhotel, Mecure Palu and Sya Regency have suspended bookings for the time being.
Residences and public buildings lost electricity and water and with more than 200 aftershocks since Friday people are camping outside their homes and premises.
Authorities closed Palu’s Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport late Friday on orders from Air Nav Indonesia, but by Sunday a 2km section of the runway was cleared for landings and take-offs. Around 20 flights were operating on Sunday about half of the daily frequencies that serve the town.
Served by five domestic airlines, the airport sustained damage to its control tower, navigation and to part of the runway. Pilots must now engage Visual Flight Rules (VFR) until the airport’s systems are repaired.
Panorama Destinations, a leading tour operator in Indonesia, reported that outside of Palu, tourist destinations such as Makassar and Toraja had escaped and their airports were operating normally. Damage assessment in the affected regions of Sulawesi is ongoing.
As the capital of the province, Palu is the gateway to tourist destinations in central Sulawesi through the town’s Mutiara airport. However there are also flights to Poso, the nearest point to visit Lake Poso, or to Luwuk the closest airport for dive tours to Togean Islands.
There are no international flights to Palu, just domestic flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, and Makassar.
