Photos: Indonesians seek talismans of former lives in Palu quake rubble

By HT Correspondent

Updated On Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

As many as 5,000 people may still be buried under the mud in the rubble of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian town of Palu on September 28, 2018. Indonesia called off the search for victims on Friday, two weeks after the quake, citing health concerns, despite residents' pleas to continue. Destructive waves of soil smashed thousands of homes, cars and buildings into each other, carrying some of them hundreds of metres from their original position. Some survivors have returned to rubbled homes looking to salvage lives, others are still sifting through in hope of closure.

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Wooden beams tilted at crazy angles poke out of piles of shattered concrete littered with battered motorbikes and household items, from crumpled pots and pans to smudged notebooks and soft toys. After the magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Indonesia’s coastal city of Palu, a pile of broken pink concrete is all that remains of fruit vendor Kaharuddin’s home. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Wooden beams tilted at crazy angles poke out of piles of shattered concrete littered with battered motorbikes and household items, from crumpled pots and pans to smudged notebooks and soft toys. After the magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Indonesia’s coastal city of Palu, a pile of broken pink concrete is all that remains of fruit vendor Kaharuddin’s home. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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He stared quietly at the rubble in Balaroa, saying it concealed the body of his one-year-old daughter, missing after the September 28 disaster. “I’m just waiting here and hope that I can find my child,” he said. Four days after the quake, rescue workers found the remains of his wife, Hastuti, still holding in her arms the bodies of their other two daughters, aged four and two. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

He stared quietly at the rubble in Balaroa, saying it concealed the body of his one-year-old daughter, missing after the September 28 disaster. “I’m just waiting here and hope that I can find my child,” he said. Four days after the quake, rescue workers found the remains of his wife, Hastuti, still holding in her arms the bodies of their other two daughters, aged four and two. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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As many as 5,000 people may still be buried under the mud, disaster relief officials estimate. Indonesia called off the search for victims two weeks after the quake, citing health concerns, despite pleas to continue. The town in the province of central Sulawesi was among those hardest hit by ground liquefaction, the shaking earth turning soft, damp soil into a roiling quagmire, dragging houses and people underneath. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

As many as 5,000 people may still be buried under the mud, disaster relief officials estimate. Indonesia called off the search for victims two weeks after the quake, citing health concerns, despite pleas to continue. The town in the province of central Sulawesi was among those hardest hit by ground liquefaction, the shaking earth turning soft, damp soil into a roiling quagmire, dragging houses and people underneath. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Darmi, 48, and her brother Rusli, 43, outside her house. The destructive waves of soil smashed homes, cars and buildings into each other, carrying some hundreds of metres from their original position. “It felt like the earth was alive,” said Darmi, who saw half of her home collapse. “It was opening up, swallowing people, and then closing again. And the noise was so loud. This loud cracking ‘k-k-k-k’ sound.” (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Darmi, 48, and her brother Rusli, 43, outside her house. The destructive waves of soil smashed homes, cars and buildings into each other, carrying some hundreds of metres from their original position. “It felt like the earth was alive,” said Darmi, who saw half of her home collapse. “It was opening up, swallowing people, and then closing again. And the noise was so loud. This loud cracking ‘k-k-k-k’ sound.” (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Hesti Andayani, 27, sits on a pile of tiles that used to be part of her second-floor bedroom. Andayani lost her younger sister in the quake. Returning to Balaroa for the first time, nearly two weeks later, she was shocked to find that her childhood home had slid far downhill. "It took so long for me to find it," she said, through tears. "I don't know where we can live now." (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Hesti Andayani, 27, sits on a pile of tiles that used to be part of her second-floor bedroom. Andayani lost her younger sister in the quake. Returning to Balaroa for the first time, nearly two weeks later, she was shocked to find that her childhood home had slid far downhill. "It took so long for me to find it," she said, through tears. "I don't know where we can live now." (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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A car stands next to a road that was upended by the earthquake and ground liquefaction. Searchers arrived with dozens of excavators to help dig out bodies, while some residents made frequent trips to retrieve treasured belongings from the rubble of destroyed homes. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

A car stands next to a road that was upended by the earthquake and ground liquefaction. Searchers arrived with dozens of excavators to help dig out bodies, while some residents made frequent trips to retrieve treasured belongings from the rubble of destroyed homes. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Government officer, Yassir Garibaldi, in front of his parents’ house. “I bought this car for my parents,” he said. “It’s the only thing of theirs I have now.” He recounted watching his parents and niece suffocate to death. “I found them in the morning after the earthquake. I managed to speak with them, even gave them some water to drink,” he said. “But they were crushed against each other... After a while, they just stopped breathing.” (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Government officer, Yassir Garibaldi, in front of his parents’ house. “I bought this car for my parents,” he said. “It’s the only thing of theirs I have now.” He recounted watching his parents and niece suffocate to death. “I found them in the morning after the earthquake. I managed to speak with them, even gave them some water to drink,” he said. “But they were crushed against each other... After a while, they just stopped breathing.” (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Nofal Surya, 37, sits on bricks that used to be his home. Surya said he lost around 15 members of his extended family and only seven have been found. “If I want to follow my heart, of course I want the search to keep going. But I think I have to accept that I may never find them. I understand it’s very hard now and that it’s not good for health,” he said. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Nofal Surya, 37, sits on bricks that used to be his home. Surya said he lost around 15 members of his extended family and only seven have been found. “If I want to follow my heart, of course I want the search to keep going. But I think I have to accept that I may never find them. I understand it’s very hard now and that it’s not good for health,” he said. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Belongings are seen among rubble. Others must reconcile themselves to the loss of loved ones. In Petobo, about 12 km away, Ameriyah, 56, lost three of her children, a grandchild and a son-in-law. She has accepted it is unlikely that searchers will now uncover their remains. “We’ve held funeral prayers for them, so we hope their souls will be at peace,” she said. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Belongings are seen among rubble. Others must reconcile themselves to the loss of loved ones. In Petobo, about 12 km away, Ameriyah, 56, lost three of her children, a grandchild and a son-in-law. She has accepted it is unlikely that searchers will now uncover their remains. “We’ve held funeral prayers for them, so we hope their souls will be at peace,” she said. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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Masdiyana, 47, sits on a bench of her mother's former home which was destroyed during the earthquake in Balaroa neighbourhood, Palu. Masdiyana has been trying to salvage items from her mother's home, picking vegetables and fruit from the garden. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

Masdiyana, 47, sits on a bench of her mother's former home which was destroyed during the earthquake in Balaroa neighbourhood, Palu. Masdiyana has been trying to salvage items from her mother's home, picking vegetables and fruit from the garden. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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A stopped clock shows the time a few minutes after the earthquake, lying among rubble. Some however, remain inconsolable. “I don’t know what to do next. There’s nothing left for me here,” said Kaharuddin, the fruit vendor still looking for his daughter’s body under the pink concrete rubble of their former home. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

Updated on Oct 18, 2018 10:07 am IST

A stopped clock shows the time a few minutes after the earthquake, lying among rubble. Some however, remain inconsolable. “I don’t know what to do next. There’s nothing left for me here,” said Kaharuddin, the fruit vendor still looking for his daughter’s body under the pink concrete rubble of their former home. (Jorge Silva / REUTERS)

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