Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani confirmed that the government had disbursed Rp560 billion on-call funds for handling the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Palu City and Donggala District, Central Sulawesi Province.

"We have agreed on disbursement of the funds last Saturday. They are disbursed today (Monday, Oct 1)," the finance minister remarked at the finance ministry building in Jakarta on Monday.

The on-call funds are standby funds prepared by the government to handle financial matters during emergency disaster conditions until their resolution.

Mulyani explained that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) will decide on the utilization of the funds for the handling of the disasters. The Rp560 billion funds can still be increased.

The BNPB can deploy health teams and military as well as police personnel using readily available funds for disaster emergencies.

"The BNPB prepares a pool of funds. It is the agency that will determine the regions that do have high priority," the minister remarked.

In addition, Sri Mulyani emphasized that disaster management in Central Sulawesi was still focused on saving victims affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi.

"We still have not entered the process of identification, let alone rehabilitation, because now, we are racing against time, as many of our brothers are still buried," she remarked.

In the meantime, the Team of Quick Action (ACT) stated here on Monday that the death toll in Friday`s Donggala-Palu earthquake and tsunami had risen to 1,203.

"The number of dead has reached 1,203 at several spots. The largest was in Petobo, which was swept and leveled to the ground by the tsunami," Vice President of ACT Insan Nurrohman stated.

A total of 700 bodies were recorded in Kelurahan Petobo, 10 at Wirabuana Hospital, 201 at Undata Hospital, 50 in Mesjid Raya Mosque, 161 at Bhayangkara Hospital, 35 at the Tawaeli sub-district, two in the village of Kayumalue Pajeko, five in the village of Kawatuna, seven in Pos Pol PP, and 32 at the Madani hospital.

Insan said the death toll is feared to rise, as there were still many missing, including 61 foreign nationals, and 540 seriously injured being treated at several hospitals.

He said 16,732 people were accommodated at evacuation camps in 123 locations in the city of Palu and the districts of Donggala, Sigi, and Parigi Moutong.

"Communication and electricity services were cut off following reports received of the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Palu and Donggala, " Insan noted. (ANTARA)