A powerful earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Sulawesi island last week has killed at least 81 people and displaced more than 19,000, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said as search and rescue efforts continued on Monday.
The quake has forced about 28,000 people to take shelter in 25 evacuation centers in West Sulawesi province’s Mamuju city and Majene district, the agency’s spokesperson Raditya Jati said.
Jati said the quake damaged 1,150 housing units and five school buildings in the district, adding that earthquake risk assessments in the city and district were ongoing.
Meanwhile, rapid tests for the coronavirus will be administered to the evacuees, and social distancing measures will be implemented at the shelters for the displaced people, the agency’s head Doni Monardo said.
“There will be antigen tests to ensure that the evacuees have not been infected by the COVID-19 virus,” Monardo said.
