1,600 dead, 70,000 homeless. Why wouldn’t tsunami-hit Indonesia want aid?

In Indonesia, where earthquakes and a tsunami have left more than 1,600 dead in Sulawesi, relief efforts often face an added obstacle: the politics of accepting foreign aid

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo talks to the media after visiting earthquake and tsunami-damaged Roa-Roa Hotel in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Photo: AP

Published: 12:30pm, 7 Oct 2018Updated: 4:10pm, 7 Oct 2018

Indonesia is reeling yet again from a natural disaster. The 7.4-magnitude earthquakes and resulting tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi on Friday have left more than 1,600 dead and more than 70,000 homeless.

Roads, bridges, homes, schools and places of worship were all destroyed by the catastrophe, leaving survivors cut off or without shelter.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has predicted the death toll in Sulawesi will rise as not all areas in the regions of Palu, Donggala and Mamuju have yet been reached, and many people are still missing.

As if the devastation wrought by the tremors and three-metre-high tidal waves was not enough, problems such as soil liquefaction, mudslides, power blackouts and even volcanic eruptions in the aftermath of the quakes have hampered relief efforts – as well as malicious hoaxes and “fake news” reports that have distracted officials from those really in need.

Residents of a village heavily damaged by the tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo: AP

The Sulawesi disaster comes nearly two months after the series of earthquakes that struck the island of Lombok, in West Nusa Tenggara province, that left 500 dead and more than 110,000 people displaced.

Given its position on the tectonic “Ring of Fire”, Indonesia endures frequent seismic activity – between 4,500 to 6,000 earthquakes every year across its large territory. Tsunami and volcanic eruptions present associated and obvious risks.