As the emergency period following the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi will soon end on Oct. 11, the government has begun the recovery process by, among other things, relocating the survivors to much safer places.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Willem Rampangilei said the government, in this case the Public Works and Housing Ministry, would build temporary houses for the survivors as soon as it had found suitable areas. Intensive studies on safe areas for the housing development are currently being carried out by the government and local authorities.

“It is impossible to rebuild houses in disaster-prone areas such as Balaroa and Petobo subdistricts, which sank into the ground as a result of soil liquefaction,” Willem told the press in Jakarta on Monday. “Areas hit by the tsunami, such as Talise Beach in Palu, will also be avoided.”

Temporary houses, slated to be completed within two months, will comprise large rooms to accommodate many individuals. The rooms will be filled with bunk beds.

The BNPB called on any individuals, institutions or countries intending to help Central Sulawesi survivors to channel their donations for the rehabilitation and reconstruction processes — not only for the emergency response process.

After conducting a meeting with local figures and residents, the Central Sulawesi administration said that housing hit by liquefaction in Balaroa and Petobo in Palu city, and Jono Oge in Sigi regency, would be relocated to nearby areas.

Housing in Balaroa would be moved to Balaroa Atas, Petobo to Natabaru village in Sigi and Jono Oge to Sidera subdistrict, also in Sigi. The areas were owned by the administration.

“Although we have the names of several relocation areas, some assessments need to be carried out first to prove that the areas are livable. Geologists from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry will carry out the assessments,” said the administration’s spokesman Haris Kariming.

He added that around 1,500 houses were heavily damaged in Balaroa, up to 1,000 in Petobo and about 300 in Jono Oge.

Palu Mayor Hidayat called on thousands of survivors who fled the area to come back, following the relocation plan. “Let’s rebuild the city together, and move the economy forward again. Palu is already safe.”

The BNPB recorded, as of Monday, that at least 1,948 people died in the calamity that occurred on Sept. 28. Nearly 850 were buried at Pobaya and Pantoloan public cemeteries in Palu, while the rest were buried by their own relatives.

Around 5,000 people are believed to be missing. The majority of them were most likely buried in Balaroa and Petobo because of the liquefaction.

“We will decide whether or not to continue the search for the victims later, on Oct. 11. The health factor will definitely be taken into consideration,” Willem said. Should the search stop, the government would dredge the affected areas in Balaroa and Petobo and then build museums in both areas.

The disaster also displaced around 74,444 people from their homes. The BNPB recorded that about 65,733 houses were destroyed either by the earthquake, tsunami or liquefaction.

The Home Ministry and the Education and Culture Ministry has encouraged civil servants and students to resume their activities starting from Monday.

The BNPB said the Education and Culture Ministry had prepared 240 tents across affected areas as “emergency schools”.

The ministries had issued the instruction in the hope that it would trigger other economic activities to run normally. Some business owners had reportedly reopened their stores.

Electricity and telecommunications networks also recovered, nearly as much as 100 percent, in the second week of the emergency-period.

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