PALU: Children in the Indonesian city of Palu began returning to school on Monday to tidy up their classrooms and hopefully see their friends 10 days after a major earthquake and tsunami struck.
The 7.5 magnitude quake on September 28 brought down many buildings in the small city on Sulawesi island, 1,500 km northeast of Jakarta, while tsunami waves smashed into its beachfront.
But the biggest killer was probably soil liquefaction, which happens when a powerful quake turns the ground into a liquid mire and which obliterated several Palu neighbourhoods.
The official death toll rose to 1,948 and bodies are still being recovered. No one knows how many people are missing, especially in the areas hit by liquefaction, but it could be as high as 5,000, the national disaster agency said.
At one state high school, teenagers dressed in grey and white uniforms swept up broken glass in the classrooms. Trophies had fallen from a broken school showcase and the basketball court was cracked.
“It’s sad to see our school like this,” said Dewi Rahmawati, 17, who expects to graduate next year and wants to study economics at university.
The students found out that they had to turn up to school through messages on Facebook and WhatsApp.
School principal Kasiludin said authorities told all teachers to show up for work from on Monday to collect information on student numbers.
“We won’t force the students to come back because many are traumatised. But we must start again soon to keep their spirits up and so they don’t fall behind,” he said.
The school had lost at least seven students and one teacher, he said.
Across the city, nine schools were destroyed, 22 teachers were killed and 14 were missing, the disaster agency said, adding that 140 tents had been set up for classes.
At the SMP Negeri 15 Palu middle school, fewer than 50 of its 697 students showed up.
School principal Abdul Rashid said he was aware of four students killed in the quake.
“Classes haven’t started. We’re only collecting data to find out how many students are safe,” he said, adding that the education ministry would decide when schools open.
“I don’t think we’re ready. Many children are traumatised and frightened.”
POSITIVE THINKING
One boy chatting in the school compound with friends said he was sad so few of his class mates had shown up.
“I want to think positively; I hope they are OK,” said Muhamad Islam Bintang Lima, dressed in the school uniform of white shirt and navy blue trousers.
Most of the dead from the quake and tsunami were in Palu, the region’s main urban centre. Figures for more remote areas are trickling in, but they seem to have suffered fewer deaths than the city.
Sulawesi is one of Indonesia’s five main islands. The archipelago sees frequent earthquakes and occasional tsunamis.
In 2004, a quake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia. — Reuters
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