Christian leaders have called for prayer as the death toll continues to climb from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami which struck central Sulawesi late last week.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, head of the World Council of Churches, urged all people of good will to reach out in support and prayer to the thousands of survivors coping in the aftermath.
Damage in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. PICTURE: Courtesy of World Vision Australia
“My prayers are with them and those who lost their lives, and their bereaved families,” he said. “Our lives are vulnerable. Kyrie eleison. God, have mercy!”
Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with those affected on the island of Sulawesi on Sunday, praying for all those affected.
“May the Lord console them and sustain the efforts of those who are taking part in the relief efforts.”
The death toll from the disaster has now passed 844 and officials expect it to rise further. The Red Cross has reported that among the deaths are 34 children who were attending a Christian camp.
Waves reportedly as high as six metres struck the city of Palu at dusk on Friday, destroying thousands of homes and businesses in the city of more than 350,000, and most of the confirmed deaths to date have occurred there. There were reports of whole houses being sucked into liquified ground.
Communication with outlying areas has been difficult and there are fears landslides may have wiped out entire villages. Donggala, which lies to the north of Palu, closer to the epicentre of the quake, and has been largely cut-off, is of particular concern to authorities.
Indonesia’s national disaster management agency has reported that as many as 2.4 million people could be affected by the disaster.
World Vision is among the agencies responding to the disaster. Doseba Sinay, national director in Indonesia, said communications were still “extremely challenging” and staff were grappling with understanding the full impact of what had taken place.
“We are deeply concerned about the impact of this on children who at this stage will be terrified of the aftershocks and struggling to cope with the uncertainty and loss of loved ones,” Sinay said.
He added that many of World Vision staff in Indonesia were already responding to the Lombok earthquake of 5th August in which more than 460 people died.
