Death toll from Indonesia quake reaches 2,088

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA, Indonesia

The death toll from last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has climbed to 2,088, officials said Friday.

The National Disaster Management Agency officials said the research and rescue missions halted as of Friday, but the state of emergency will continue until Oct. 26.

The officials added that a total of 680 people are believed to be missing and the number of injured people receiving treatment in hospitals are up to 4,612.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said on Thursday that most of the deaths, 1,663, occurred in Palu, mainly because of the tsunami.

Last month, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Sulawesi Island, which triggered a tsunami in the cities of Donggala and Palu that towered up to 10 feet (3 meters) high.

Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ocean’s 'Ring of Fire' where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.