Jakarta, October 2: The death toll of a devastating quake-tsunami in Indonesia has risen to 1,234 people on Tuesday, up from the previous count of 844. “As of 1:00 pm there are 1,234 dead,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the national disaster agency spokesman. On September 28, Indonesia was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami waves up to three metres high. Palu, a city of 350,000, was the worst affected and was reduced to ruins.

According to an IANS report, over 2.4 million people were affected by the disaster and at least 600 people were hospitalized, More than 48,000 have been displaced so far and are still counting. Reports informed that the streets of the city were covered in debris and dead bodies were flung. Indonesia Earthquake: Mass Graves Dug to Bury Dead.

The tsunami that ravaged the Indonesian city of Palu was outsized compared to the earthquake that spawned it, but other factors including a long, narrow bay conspired to create monster waves, scientists say. Tsunami in Indonesia: Death Toll Raises to 405 After 7.5 Earthquake Hits Coastal Indonesian City.

The Indonesian police on Tuesday informed that they had arrested dozens of people for looting on the quake and tsunami-struck island of Sulawesi, where survivors have raided shops for water, food and other goods. “On the first and second day clearly no shops were open. People were hungry. There were people in dire need. That’s not a problem,” said deputy national police chief Ari Dono Sukmanto.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 02, 2018 01:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).