The Indonesian government will accept foreign donation for victims of the magnitude-7.4 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami that devastated Palu and Donggal, Central Sulawesi Province, on September 28, 2018.

"Last night, President @jokowi authorized us to accept international help for urgent disaster-response and relief. I am helping to coordinate assistance from private sectors around the world. Please message me at my social media accounts or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ," Thomas Lembong, head of the Investment Coordinating Board, noted on its Twitter account, @tomlembong, Monday.

Meanwhile, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said he had coordinated the matter with Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi.

"I just contacted the foreign affairs minister in New York. She said that the president has expressed willingness to accept international assistance in accordance with our needs. It means we welcome international offers. It will be latter coordinated with the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs," he stated.

The Agency and the Foreign Affairs Ministry are currently preparing the mechanism and procedures in line with the existing regulations, he added.

He, however, said the government will not declare the earthquake and tsunami in Palu and Donggala a national disaster, although the government welcomes foreign aid. (ANTARA)

The National Police (Polri) will again send 1,400 personnel to Palu, Central Sulawesi, to help secure, evacuate, and rehabilitate the conditions there after a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday.

Police Public Relations Division Chief Inspector General Setyo Wasisto remarked in Jakarta on Monday that the 1,400 personnel will be sent to Palu soon.

He said thousands of police from North Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and South Sulawesi will be deployed to guard several shops to prevent cases of looting in future.

Wasisto appealed to the public to not commit criminal acts and violate the law by forcibly taking non-food items, such as electronic goods and gold.

He ensured that the military (TNI)-Polri had continued to send basic necessities, such as food, medicine, and other equipment to the earthquake and tsunami victims.

Wasisto also appealed to volunteers and several mass organizations keen to send logistical assistance to Palu to coordinate with the Indonesian National Police to get escort. (ANTARA)

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)

The government will deliver food and water aid in large quantities to Palu to assist earthquake and tsunami victims in Central Sulawesi, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.

"We will dispatch as much food assistance as possible aboard the Hercules aircraft today," the president stated after attending a ceremony held to observe Pancasila Sanctity Day in Jakarta on Monday.

He remarked that the assistance will be delivered directly aboard several aircraft. There are also deliveries from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The president noted that the food is delivered in large quantities following complaints and problems faced, such as food shortages.

Jokowi stated that fuel oil (BBM) was also expected to start entering Palu using special fuel aircraft.

The head of state explained that basic matters, such as victim evacuation, delivery of aid needed by the victims, and electricity supply, must be handled quickly.

"I think these problems must be handled soon before we tackle the second phase of disaster response," he remarked.

He said the provision of food is a problem, as the shops were closed. Water supply is also an issue due to electricity outage.

"There is no electricity supply since of the seven existing power substations, only two could operate, while five are having problems. This must be restored, but it could not done in a short time," he noted.

Jokowi has ordered the provision of a mobile electrical substation to ensure the availability of electricity and restoration of clean water supply.

Speaking in connection with cases of food being pilfered from stores by residents, the president said he had not seen such an incident on the field, as shops were closed.

"May be there are one or two incidents (of looting). It is necessary to help victims in need," he noted.

The president called for mutual assistance in a disaster emergency scenario.

"Do not force things that are not really a basic problem," President Jokowi pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Media and Press Information Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat informed that on Monday, the president`s assistance will be sent to Palu via the Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base. Assistance will depart at around 10:30 Western Indonesia Standard Time. (ANTARA)