Ottawa's Indonesian community awaits news after quake, tsunami
Hundreds feared dead after tsunami triggered by 7.5-magnitude earthquake deluged Sulawesi island
As rescuers in Indonesia continue to search for survivors of Friday's 7.5-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, many in Ottawa are worried and waiting for news from relatives back home.
Indonesian authorities are scrambling to get aid and rescue equipment into quake-hit Sulawesi island and are starting to bury some of the more than 1,200 dead, while shaken survivors flee their ruined homes in search of food and shelter.
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Most of the confirmed deaths were in Palu, a city of about 380,000, but that toll looked certain to rise as rescuers reached devastated outlying communities.
'Too big, too hard, too fast'
Ida Rafiqah grew up on Sulawesi, and her mother and extended family are still there.
After a few frantic phone calls, Rafiqah was able to reach relatives, most of whom made it to higher, safer ground. Her mother, who lives in the southern part of the island, is safe, but three cousins are missing and an uncle has stayed behind in the disaster zone to search for them.
Rafiqah's relatives described the tsumani as "too big, too hard [and] too fast" for many to avoid, as powerful torrents of muddy water deluged residential neighbourhoods.
"They are still in shock," Rafiqah said. "With their very eyes, they saw people being carried away in waves of mud."
Rafiqah works with Ottawa-based charity Human Concern International and was already involved in planning an autumn fundraiser for victims of this summer's deadly earthquake on Indonesia's Lombok island. Now the group will reconvene to find ways to help victims of this latest disaster recover, too.
Embassy offering help
The Indonesian government is involved in a massive rescue and relocation operation, evacuating the area and searching among the ruins for both survivors and the dead.
Indonesia's ambassador to Canada, Teuku Faizasyah, said he expects to see the death toll rise as more bodies are discovered. He said Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the area and made an early assessment of the challenges ahead, the biggest being the resettlement of the thousands of people who lost both their homes and their livelihoods.
"We try our best to assist them," Faizasyah said. "It's not easy, because it's hard to ensure safety for these people who are internally displaced."
Faizasyah said there are 350 Indonesians living in the Ottawa area, and the embassy will help those who are having trouble connecting with relatives affected by the earthquake and tsumamis.