On Friday, 1,700 houses were destroyed, and thousands reported dead in the aftermath of Indonesia’s most recent 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Sulawesi. On Tuesday, the death toll for event rose to 1,234 as more and more rescuers push into remote areas, officials fear that the number may continue to climb. Indonesia has stated that offers of international aid will be accepted.  

Communications are completely down, along with transportation by land, as the roads have been completely disarrayed making the journey for rescuers to get closer and closer to the epicenter, more difficult. The national disaster agency says that in a neighborhood, 1,700 houses were swallowed up and buried with people inside.  

As of now, almost 60,000 people are in desperate need of emergency aid, while thousands more continue to pour out of the affected area. Chief security minister Wiranto had said that the government was trying to fulfill survivors’ immediate needs and would accept offers of international aid. He also said that the power utility would also work in restoring the power saying, “Without energy, everything is crippled.” Services in Palu, a small city of only 370,000 people, have started to return to normal with banks reopening and a major mobile phone network resuming service. Fuel shipments have also started to arrive. The UK government is also sending supplies to the disaster zone along with a plane loaded with supplies leaving on Thursday.