Indonesia - Widespread Looting, Prison Breaks Mar Disaster Response Efforts

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As if the mounting logistical challenges of responding to a huge disaster like the quake-tsunami that hit Sulawesi island in Indonesia are not enough, local officials also have to deal now with potential security risk after as many as 1,200 inmates escaped from three detention facilities in the affected areas.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some 1,200 Indonesian convicts are on the run from three different detention facilities in devastated Sulawesi after the region was rocked by a powerful earthquake and tsunami <a href="https://t.co/3EmAE4mAsk">https://t.co/3EmAE4mAsk</a></p>&mdash; The Nation Thailand (@nationnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/nationnews/status/1046689956268318720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The mass prison break transpired after the powerful quake sparked a wall of water that hit the small city of Palu on Friday. The inmates escaped from two overcapacity facilities in Palu and another in Donggala.

Sri Puguh, an official of the Ministry of Justice, said: “Things were initially fine but not long after the quake, water erupted from under the prison yard causing prisoners to panic and then run onto the road.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thousands escape after multiple mass prison breaks in Indonesia <a href="https://t.co/cb6RdqWWr7">https://t.co/cb6RdqWWr7</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fy9ZLgeCiZ">pic.twitter.com/Fy9ZLgeCiZ</a></p>&mdash; NDTV (@ndtv) <a href="https://twitter.com/ndtv/status/1046641953968816128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Puguh was quick to add that the prisoners escaped mostly because they feared for their lives, following the earthquake, and that they probably thought it was a life and death situation.

One tsunami-struck prison in Palu city which was originally built to hold only 120 people but had 581 inmates at the time of the disaster saw most of the prisoners there fled from the guards to their freedom outside after the collapse of the walls.

Prisoners from the other facility in Palu, which is also running at overcapacity at the time of the disaster saw its prisoners escape by breaking down its main door.

A prison facilty in Donggala with 343 inmates is believed to have been set on fire by angry prisoners demanding to see their families. The inmates are all on the run now.

Among those inmates who escaped prison are five people convicted of terror-related crimes.

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Another challenge in the aftermath of the disaster is that the shortage in food supplies, and with relief not yet getting through some affected areas due to logistical constraints, hundreds of affected people in Palu became so desperate that they turned to looting supermarkets and petrol stations on Sunday.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;We need to eat&quot;<br><br>Survivors of the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia have been looting shops and petrol stations in the aftermath of the disaster<br><br>(Tap to expand) <a href="https://t.co/saPEjazJfG">https://t.co/saPEjazJfG</a> <a href="https://t.co/giYWf46Nwh">pic.twitter.com/giYWf46Nwh</a></p>&mdash; BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1046727804468023296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Men and women were seen making their way through damaged supermarkets, getting baskets and filling them with food, toiletries, other necessities or whatever they could get their hands on.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPDATE</a> The death toll from a powerful quake and tsunami in Indonesia leaps to 832, as people struggle to find food and water and looting spreads <a href="https://t.co/AHkjjyPIU3">https://t.co/AHkjjyPIU3</a> <a href="https://t.co/GzlVnTdUdz">pic.twitter.com/GzlVnTdUdz</a></p>&mdash; AFP news agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1046295939504197632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2018</a></blockquote>

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One teen involved in the looting justified his actions and said: “The situation forced us to do this. We need everything-food, water. We took anything we could take. We can’t even cook. So that’s why we looted.”

Source:

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/indonesians-loot-supermarkets-after-tsunami-earthquake-create-shortage-of-food-water-1924504

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/indonesia-earthquake-tsunami-prison-break-sulawesi-10775622