Manado, Indonesia, Oct 1, 2018 / 14:26 pm
Catholic humanitarian groups have joined the efforts to support the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday.
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck 6 miles beneath Sulawesi just after 6 pm Sept. 28. It set off a tsunami, which caused 20 foot-high waves which devastated coastal cities, including, prominently, Palu. The quake also caused landslides and power outages. At least 844 people have died as a result of the disaster.
The country's tsunami warning system had reportedly been damaged. Though an alert was still issued, the size of the waves were underestimated and power outages from the tremors caused many people not to receive an alert at all, according to the BBC.
Catholic Relief Services and the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund have provided relief funds and teams to address the emergency situation. As heavy damages have affected access points and infrastructures, CRS expressed it has had difficulty in reaching devastated areas.