Indonesian quake death toll climbs to 1,944

The death toll from earthquakes and a tsunami that hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island last week has risen to 1,944, the country’s disaster management agency said.

“More than 74,000 are still displaced 10 days after the disaster,” said Willem Rampangilei, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Agency.

Authorities are trying to verify reports that thousands of people are still missing from the villages of Petobo and Balaroa, where homes were sucked into a sinkhole and mud during the disaster.

Meanwhile, children in the city of Palu have begun returning to school on Monday to tidy up their classrooms and help gather data on how many of them will be coming back.

The 7.5 magnitude quake brought down many buildings in the small city, while tsunami waves smashed into its beachfront.