JAKARTA - The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck islands off the coast of Sumatra nearly four weeks ago has risen to 905 and is expected to climb higher, Indonesia's disaster management agency said on Monday.
The March 28 magnitude 8.7 tremor destroyed buildings and roads on Nias island as well as nearby Simeulue and the Banyak Islands, flattening homes and shops in the main Nias town of Gunungsitoli and other areas hit just three months earlier by an even greater earthquake and a tsunami.
"The number of dead is now 905. There was a significant rise in bodies found in Gunungsitoli and Nias Selatan (South Nias) in the last few days," Wisnu Widjaya, a senior official at the national disaster agency, told Reuters.
"I think there will still be an increase in the number, but it will not be so much. Now that we have the heavy tools working in those areas, I reckon the total number will be over 1,000 but not exceeding 2,000," he said.
"The most casualties are in Gunungsitoli, and we have been working with heavy tools in that area for days now. I don't think there will be a dramatic increase."
The previous toll had been around 715 dead. Immediately after the earthquake, officials said they feared up to 2,000 may have been killed.
The United Nations, along with other relief organisations and military personnel from countries including Australia and the United States, are involved in aid operations in the area.
Relief workers on Nias say damage to roads and other infrastructure has made reaching isolated communities difficult. Many people are still sleeping in tents because of regular aftershocks.
Other islanders have yet to return from the hills, where they fled fearing a tsunami, similar to the one that swept the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, leaving hundreds of thousands dead or missing.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
