Disinfectant dropped on Palu

A helicopter operated by Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency sprays disinfectant to sterilise an area, affected by liquefaction due to the September 28 earthquake and where thousands are still feared buried, in Palu on October 18, 2018. -AFP

JAKARTA: Helicopters are dropping disinfectant on neighbourhoods in the earthquake and tsunami-stricken city of Palu to reduce disease risks from the thousands of victims believed buried in obliterated communities, Indonesia’s disaster agency said.

The agency said that 430ha of land and nearly 3,500 homes succumbed to liquefaction in central Sulawesi when the Sept 28 earthquake turned soft soil to mud.