People walk on the debris of a damaged mosque on Balaroa in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)
JAKARTA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will start a rehabilitation and reconstruction program in areas devastated by quakes and tsunami in Central Sulawesi province next month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here Tuesday.
Powerful and shallow under-earth quakes of 6.0-, 7.4- and 6.1-magnitudes and an ensuing tsunami with height of up to 3 meters hit the province on Sept. 28, and have resulted in massive damages of houses, buildings and infrastructure facilities.
The worst destruction occurred in provincial capital Palu and the district of Donggala.
Villagers push a motorcycle on the ruins of houses in Poso of Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia, Oct. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)
"Rehabilitation will start next month. The works will include establishing temporary barracks along with construction of school buildings, mosques, office buildings and houses," the vice president said in his office.
The rehabilitation and reconstruction would take about two years and will be divided into two phases, said Kalla.
The first phase will be the construction of transient settlements such as barracks for the survivors whose houses were leveled by the jolts and the strikes of the tsunami, and afterward, it will be followed by the rehabilitation and reconstruction of houses and buildings damaged by the natural disasters, he added.
On foreign aid, the vice president said it will be primarily used for the forthcoming rehabilitation and reconstruction programs.
By far about 26 nations have offered assistance to the Indonesian government, some of which have channeled their aid, including China, Japan, France, Switzerland and others, according to the national disaster management agency.
Workers check electricity installation in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Oct. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)
The earthquakes and the tsunami have killed at least 2,010 people, left over 5,000 others missing and triggered massive damage and a huge evacuation, the agency revealed.
The agency recorded that as many as 67,310 houses, 2,736 school buildings and 20 health facilities, and score of infrastructures facilities, including bridges and airport, were devastated.
Some 82,775 people were forced to escape the deadly natural disasters and are now taking shelter in encampments or under tarpaulin in over 100 evacuation centers, it said.
