Death Toll From Indonesian Earthquake, Tsunami Exceeds 1,200 People - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of people who’ve died in Indonesia due to recent earthquakes and a subsequent tsunami has exceeded 1,200 people, media reported.

Previous reports said that at least 832 people had been killed in the disaster.

On Friday, a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and was followed by two 5.8-magnitude tremors. A 6.5-feet tsunami struck the city of Palu and the Donggala area of Central Sulawesi Province shortly afterward.

The newspaper Straits Times reported, citing the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) that about 16,700 people have been displaced as a result of the disaster, while about 2.4 million people in Palu and Donggala will need humanitarian aid.

"Fuel, drinking water, medical personnel, tents, electricity, food and other essentials are urgently needed," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday as quoted by the media outlet.

South Korean authorities have pledged to allocate humanitarian assistance worth $1 million to Indonesia to support the country after the disaster. The European Commission has also released an initial $1.7 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to the beleagured nation.