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Horror difficult to erase for Indonesians as toll tops 1,400

PALU, Indonesia (AP) - For some who survived the massive earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island last week, the memories and the horror of experiencing a disaster that has left more than 1,400 people dead are both hard to erase and understand. Nature simply unleashed its fury on them.

Furniture maker Khairul Hassan recalled working at a shop near the beach in front of a row of warehouses when the ground came alive and shook violently. He ran to a nearby hill and watched as the ocean heaved up and hurled forward. Now he can't forget.

"I saw the waves come and sweep out everything - buildings, factories, warehouses and some people who were lost, racing from the waves, some of them women and children," he said Wednesday. "Also, warehouse workers who were trapped under goods, all swept by the sea. It's so tragic. It's so scary to remember."

Five days later, aid was slowly creeping into areas where victims have become increasingly desperate after being left without food, water, fuel and medicine. In one neighborhood in the city of Palu, residents celebrated as they swarmed a truck delivering aid - clapping, cheering and high-fiving.

"I'm so happy," said Heruwanto, 63, who goes by one name. He was clutching a box of instant noodles. "I really haven't eaten for three days."

The official death toll increased to 1,407 on Wednesday, with thousands injured and more than 70,000 displaced from their homes, said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said the number of dead would increase, but that rescue crews had reached all affected areas.

The U.N. humanitarian office estimated that some 200,000 people need assistance in the disaster zone and announced a $15 million allocation to bolster relief efforts. Help has been slow to reach many victims, especially those living in areas cut off by impassable roads. But large fuel and food conveys, guarded by security forces, have been making their way in.

In addition to the quake and tsunami, Indonesia also demonstrated Wednesday what it means to sit on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" when a volcano erupted in another part of Sulawesi island about 940 kilometers (585 miles) northeast of the earthquake zone. It sent a plume of ash more than 6,000 meters (20,680 feet) into the sky. Planes were warned of the cloud billowing from Mount Soputan because the material can be hazardous for aircraft engines, but no evacuations were ordered in the area.

Experts said it's possible the quake accelerated the eruption, but there is no concrete evidence to prove that. Activity at the volcano had been increasing since August and began surging on Monday, Kasbani, who heads Indonesia's Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Agency and uses one name, told an online news portal.

More than 25 countries offered assistance after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appealed for international help. He visited the disaster zone Wednesday, saying there's still work to be done, but that conditions were improving with businesses starting to reopen, helping people to start returning their lives to normal.ˆ He said U.S. President Donald Trump called him Tuesday night, offering assistance.

"We are going in phases. There are lots of things happening related to evacuation, as aid and fuel are also coming in," he said, noting that 30 people remain buried under rubble at the Roa Roa Hotel in Palu. "Every province has different cases, including security."

Some homeless residents weren't waiting for help. Dozens sifted through what remained of the flattened complex of warehouses along Palu's ravaged coastline, looking for anything they could salvage to either sell or help them rebuild. They carted away corrugated metal, wood, piping and other items.

"We have to do this because there's no assistance from the government," said Zaitun Rajamangili, 41, adding that his home was swept away but his family survived.

Following widespread looting and aid vehicles being stopped and surrounded by people on roads, Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahyanto said one soldier and one police officer would be placed on every aid truck and soldiers would be sent to secure markets, the airport and fuel depots to maintain order. He added that a Singaporean military transport plane will help evacuate victims from the airport in Palu. In addition, aircraft from South Korea, the United Kingdom and Japan were expected to ferry aid.

Australia announced it will send 50 medical professionals as part of a $3.6 million aid package. The United States and China are among other countries that have offered assistance.

The U.N. said the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs has asked the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, to send social workers to support vulnerable children who are alone or became separated from their families. It said the World Health Organization is warning that a lack of shelter and damaged water sanitation facilities could lead to outbreaks of communicable diseases.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 260 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. A powerful quake on the island of Lombok killed 505 people in August.

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Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Palu, Indonesia; Margie Mason and Eileen Ng in Jakarta, Indonesia; Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 3, 20-18, photo, an earthquake victim is bandaged at a makeshift hospital in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
An Indonesian rescue team carries the body of a victim following an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck a central Indonesian island, with one neighborhood's residents clapping, cheering and high-fiving in their excitement Wednesday at seeing a stopped truck laden with supplies. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
A police officer carries his K9 unit search dog as they continue to search for victims in the wreckage following earthquakes and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck a central Indonesian island, with one neighborhood's residents clapping, cheering and high-fiving in their excitement Wednesday at seeing a stopped truck laden with supplies. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
A giant plume of volcanic ash rises from Mount Soputan, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in the town of Tomohon, Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. The volcano erupted Wednesday morning on the same central Indonesian island as an earlier earthquake and authorities warned planes about volcanic ash in the air. (AP Photo/Hetty Andih) The Associated Press
A police K9 unit continues to search for victims in the wreckage following earthquakes and a tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck a central Indonesian island, with one neighborhood's residents clapping, cheering and high-fiving in their excitement Wednesday at seeing a stopped truck laden with supplies. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
In this image made from drone video footage Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, long queues lead out from a petrol station in the earthquake and tsunami-devastated area of Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck a central Indonesian island, with one neighborhood’s residents clapping, cheering and high-fiving in their excitement Wednesday at seeing a stopped truck laden with supplies. (AP Photo) The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, photo, a police K9 unit continues to search for victims in the wreckage following earthquakes and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
A man holds bottles of syrup and cans of condensed milk scavenged from an abandoned warehouse at an earthquake and tsunami-affected area in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
A man put beverages scavenged from an abandoned warehouse into a sack at an earthquake and tsunami-affected area in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, photo, men dig through sodden piles of food inside an abandoned warehouse following an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
Men scavenge for food inside a destroyed warehouse following an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
Men scavenge for food inside an abandoned warehouse in an earthquake and tsunami-affected area in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
A man holds bottles of body lotion scavenged from an abandoned warehouse following an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
People scavenge for food inside an abandoned warehouse in an earthquake and tsunami-affected area in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Clamouring over the reeking pile of sodden food or staking out a patch of territory, people who had come from devastated neighborhoods and elsewhere in the remote Indonesian city pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, packets of sweets and painkillers from the pile as they scavenge for anything edible in the warehouse that tsunami waves had pounded. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, photo, a man carries a sack containing food scavenged from an abandoned warehouse damaged in an earthquake and tsunami-affected area in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia Indonesia. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) The Associated Press
Rescue teams continue to search through the wreckage of the Roa-Roa Hotel following earthquakes and a tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Aid has yet to reach the hardest-hit areas around Palu, the largest city heavily damaged in the earthquake and tsunami that hit on Friday, Sept. 28. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) The Associated Press
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