Tsunami Strikes Indonesia
On Friday September 28, powerful earthquakes shook Indonesia, triggering a tsunami with ten-foot waves. The events devastated the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing over 1,580 while injuring and displacing thousands more. Homes, public buildings, roads, bridges—destroyed. Find all the facts you need to know about this horrific tragedy, including updates from our team on the ground.
Get the Facts: What you need to know
About Indonesia
Located in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, consisting of more than 13,000 islands, Indonesia is the world’s largest island country. It is geographically prone to many different types of natural disasters, which pose a continuous threat to the 260 million children, women and men who live there.
Project HOPE has worked in Indonesia since 1960.
Earthquake and Tsunami: A deadly combination
On Friday September 28, 2018 at 5:02 PM local time, a massive earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Hundreds of aftershocks ranging from 2.9 to 6.3 in intensity were registered throughout the weekend. A massive tsunami followed, crashing onto the Sulawesi beaches, viciously sweeping away anything and everything in its path.
With waves as tall as 10ft, the tsunami slammed into buildings, burying people in the rubble. Survivors, unable to move under the weight of the remains of the collapsed buildings, have no choice but to wait for rescue crews that might not come in time. The raging currents swept many others to their deaths. Major landslides plowed down trees, crumbling buildings and tearing down communications towers, all the while shutting down many roads that were barely passable to begin with. Power outages and downed telecommunications are inhibiting regular information flow.
The full extent of the devastation is still unknown. Over 1,500 have died, thousands are injured, and many people are still unaccounted for across Sulawesi. The areas of Palu and Donggala were hit the hardest.
Project HOPE is responding
We’re deeply concerned about the human suffering in the aftermath of this natural disaster. Traveling by both air and sea, our medical team in Indonesia was one of the first to arrive in the hard-hit city of Palu. Our team carried in all the medical supplies and medicines they could, but the need is immense. We are committed to providing healthcare assistance where the need is greatest. We are operating a clinic in Dolo, and we will continue to assess health needs across all affected areas on the island and coordinate with local officials to ensure we are reaching those who need the most care.
You can support our lifesaving work
For 60 years, HOPE has responded to emergencies around the world, tackling urgent public health challenges and empowering local health workers with the training and tools needed to save the most lives.
When you support our work with your generous gift, you enable us to send skilled, experienced responders when disasters strike. You help us purchase the supplies we need in-country, strengthening local businesses and helping economies stabilize. You ensure that, when we hear of a community in need that no one has reached, we have the resources required to go there and provide lifesaving assistance.
From Puerto Rico to Colombia, and Nigeria to Indonesia, we work in 25 countries around the world, responding to crises and disasters, helping diagnose and treat diseases like Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and empowering health care workers with the tools and training they need to save more lives, every day.
