The main focus of the Indonesian Red Cross operation is now on the distribution of clean water and food, providing medical support, and evacuating survivors from the disaster zone.
She said: "More and more aid is arriving every day - a plane has just arrived with generators and tarpaulins from the government of New Zealand - and 70 tons of Red Cross relief goods are on their way to Palu. Red Cross teams are doing everything they can to comfort survivors and evacuate them to safer areas of the island.
Red Cross volunteers have reached the settlement of Banawa, in Donggala, where every home along the shoreline was wiped out by the tsunami. The team has described Banawa as the worst affected area they have so far seen. The survivors have been evacuated - or have travelled independently - to neighbouring houses in the hills, where they are in need of health care, tents, blankets, baby food, and diapers.
Around 50 Indonesian Red Cross volunteers are expected to escort survivors from the Petobo and Balaroa settlements to safety today. Hundreds of blankets, clean water, tarpaulins, mats and 1,kg of rice will be distributed to survivors in Sigi and Donggala. Three water trucks are being used and a further seven trucks are on their way to the area. One Red Cross search and rescue team is still active and responding to requests from the affected communities.
Heavy machinery has arrived to help excavate buried settlements, and Indonesian Red Cross volunteers will also be helping to manage any dead bodies that are found. Government agencies report that at least 1, people have been killed, more than 2, have been injured, and people are still missing. IFRC is appealing for 22 million Swiss francs to support , people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, and the series of earthquakes on the island of Lombok.
