CATASTROPHE

Indonesia Tsunami Death Toll Hits 1,200 as Food and Water Run Out

Anger and desperation grows among survivors.

At least 1,234 people are now confirmed to have died following the earthquake and tsunami that hit an Indonesian island Friday, and that number is still expected to rise steeply. Indonesia’s disaster agency said 799 people are severely injured, and that the communities of Sigi and Balaroa have not been assessed yet—meaning the death toll will almost certainly rise. Anger and desperation are growing among survivors as they face a fourth day without food and drinking water. “Everyone is hungry and they want to eat after several days of not eating,” said Kasman Lassa, the area of Donggala’s administration chief. “We have anticipated it by providing food, rice, but it was not enough. There are many people here. So, on this issue, we cannot pressure them to hold much longer.”