As recovery efforts in the aftermath of the 7.5-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi continue, authorities announced on October 8 that the death toll is nearing 2,000 with more than 5,000 still feared missing.
This aerial video, filmed by photographer Richard Alma, roofs of houses collapsed onto piles of debris. Few structures are left standing and large, visible cracks can be seen in the ground.
Rivers of soil swept away entire neighborhoods in the towns of Baleroa and Petob, where a process known as soil licquefaction – where soil becomes saturated with water, causing it to erupt into torrents that topple buildings – is likely responsible for thousands of missing persons. Over 60,000 people have been displaced.
More than 450 aftershocks rocked the island since the earthquake hit on September 28.
Almost all of the dead have been buried in mass graves, local media reported.
