Indonesia to end search for earthquake, tsunami victims as death

toll soars over 2,000

PALU, Indonesia -- Indonesia's disaster agency said Wednesday that it only needs tents,
water treatment units, generators and transport from other countries as it tries to take
complete control of the response to the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed more
than 2,000 people. The agency's spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the death toll from
the double disaster on Sept. 28 has risen to 2,045, with most of the fatalities in the coastal city
of Palu. More than 80,000 people are living in temporary shelters or otherwise displaced, he
said.
Possibly 5,000 people are buried in obliterated parts of the city and its surroundings where
the force of the quake liquefied the soil and sucked houses into the earth. Miles of coastline
were trashed by the tsunami and Nugroho said its waves were up to 36 feet high. A tsunami
warning after the quake had predicted waves of 1.5 to 10 feet.
Nugroho reiterated at a news conference in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, that the official search
for bodies will end Thursday with mass prayers in hard-hit neighborhoods but volunteers and
family members can continue searching.
Memorials will be constructed in hard-hit neighborhoods such as Balaroa and Petobo, he
said.
"People are traumatized. They don't want to go back" to those places, Nugroho said. "They
asked to be relocated to another place and a house made for them."

After a rare appeal for international assistance, Indonesia is now trying to limit foreign
involvement in the disaster relief effort. Nugroho said there's no need for international aid
other than the four priorities identified by Indonesia.
The disaster agency has circulated guidelines that say foreign aid workers can be in the field
only with Indonesian partners. Groups that sent foreign personnel to the disaster zone are
"advised to retrieve their personnel immediately," according to those guidelines.

International aid groups with Indonesian sister organizations say foreign personnel they want
to send are being vetted by the government in a process that takes several days or longer.
In a belated response to the influx of international journalists, Nugroho said foreign reporters
need to apply for a journalist visa to report on the disaster. It's likely the majority have
already left.

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1. Social function :

To inform readers about the earthquake and tsunami victims in Palu.

2. Generic structure :
 Newsworthy event :
Indonesia's disaster agency said Wednesday that it only needs tents, water treatment
units, generators and transport from other countries as it tries to take complete control
of the response to the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 2,000
people. The agency's spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the death toll from the
double disaster on Sept. 28 has risen to 2,045, with most of the fatalities in the coastal
city of Palu. More than 80,000 people are living in temporary shelters or otherwise
displaced, he said.
 Background event :
Possibly 5,000 people are buried in obliterated parts of the city and its surroundings
where the force of the quake liquefied the soil and sucked houses into the earth. Miles
of coastline were trashed by the tsunami and Nugroho said its waves were up to 36
feet high. A tsunami warning after the quake had predicted waves of 1.5 to 10 feet.
Nugroho reiterated at a news conference in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, that the
official search for bodies will end Thursday with mass prayers in hard-hit
neighborhoods but volunteers and family members can continue searching.
Memorials will be constructed in hard-hit neighborhoods such as Balaroa and Petobo,
he said.
After a rare appeal for international assistance, Indonesia is now trying to limit
foreign involvement in the disaster relief effort. Nugroho said there's no need for
international aid other than the four priorities identified by Indonesia.
The disaster agency has circulated guidelines that say foreign aid workers can be in
the field only with Indonesian partners. Groups that sent foreign personnel to the
disaster zone are "advised to retrieve their personnel immediately," according to those
guidelines.
International aid groups with Indonesian sister organizations say foreign personnel
they want to send are being vetted by the government in a process that takes several
days or longer.
In a belated response to the influx of international journalists, Nugroho said foreign
reporters need to apply for a journalist visa to report on the disaster. It's likely the
majority have already left.
 Source :
The agency’s spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, gave information about earthquake
and tsunami victims in Palu.
3. Linguistic feature(s) :
Action verb
 The official search for bodies will end Thursday with mass prayers in hard-hit
neighborhoods but volunteers and family members can continue searching.
 Groups that sent foreign personnel to the disaster zone are "advised to retrieve their
personnel immediately," according to those guidelines.
Saying verb
 "People are traumatized. They don't want to go back" to those places, Nugroho said.
"They asked to be relocated to another place and a house made for them."
Passive sentences
 Miles of coastline were trashed by the tsunami and Nugroho said its waves were up to
36 feet high.
Adverb in passive sentences
 Miles of coastline were trashed by the tsunami and Nugroho said its waves were up to
36 feet high.