Indonesia commemorates victims of earthquake, tsunami 5 years ago

Scene of wreckage following an earthquake in Indonesia (Photo: AFP)

Hanoi (VNA) – A ceremony was held in Indonesia's central Sulawesi province on September 28 to mark five years since a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the province, killing more than 4,300 people, with thousands of survivors still awaiting permanent relocation.

Local residents laid flowers at Talise beach in Palu, the capital of the province that was hit hardest by the magnitude 7.4 quake and tsunami.

Prayers were offered at the Poboya mass grave in the neighbouring Sigi regency where hundreds of bodies, including some unidentified, were buried following the disaster.

While some government offices and infrastructure facilities damaged in the disaster have been rebuilt, restoration efforts are still underway, with many half-collapsed buildings seen in Palu.

Indonesia is known to experience frequent earthquakes due to its location in the "Pacific Ring of Fire" where the Earth's tectonic plates intersect and result in numerous seismic activities./.
      

VNA