An aerial view shows the devastation of Balaroa Village in Palu, Central Sulawesi Indonesia due to 7.4 RS earthquake that hit Palu on Friday, September 28, 2018. Balaroa is one of the most devastated residential where 900 families were living in the area.

Balaroa, which is located 10-kilometers from the sea, has been struck by such mudflow. It is feared that about 2,000 people in the subdistrict are dead, with homes having been dragged away by the mud.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said during a press briefing on Sunday in Jakarta that soil liquefaction had occurred, a natural phenomenon that takes place when solid soil loses its strength and behaves like liquid due to stress such as shaking during an earthquake.