Indonesia quake toll climbs to 2,045

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA (AA) - The death toll from last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has climbed to 2,045, according to the country’s national disaster agency on Wednesday.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said that the death toll from the Sept. 28 earthquake and tsunami has reached to 2,045 and over 10,000 people were injured.

Nugroho added that 671 people were still unaccounted for while 82,775 people have been displaced after the disaster.

A total of 67,310 buildings, including 1,736 schools and 20 medical centers, have been damaged, he added.

The search and rescue works in the region are expected to end on Thursday.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Sulawesi Island, triggering a tsunami in Donggala and Palu cities that towered up to 10 feet (3 meters) high.

Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ocean’s "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.