PALU, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says it only needs tents, water treatment units, generators and transport from other countries as it responds to the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 2,000 people.
The agency's spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said Wednesday that the death toll from the Sept. 28 disaster has risen to 2,045.
Possibly thousands of people are buried in areas where the force of the quake liquefied the soil and sucked houses into the earth. Nugroho reiterated that the official search for bodies will end Thursday with prayers in hard-hit neighborhoods.
After appealing for international assistance, Indonesia is now trying to limit foreign involvement in disaster relief. The agency has issued guidelines that say foreign aid workers can be in the field only with Indonesian partners.
