On Friday 28 September, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, triggering a terrifying tsunami that reached 18 feet in height and left a trail of destruction in its wake.

The true scale of the disaster is only now becoming clear. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and entire communities have been decimated. At least 1,700 people have died, thousands more are missing and hundreds of thousands of survivors are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, many of whom are children.

DEC member charities and their Indonesian partners are working closely with national authorities to provide food, clean water, first aid and shelter, while helping survivors to cope with the trauma of the last few days.

As the full scale of devastation unfolds, they are ready to do even more, and with your help, support devastated communities in rebuilding their lives.

Let’s save the survivors. A 400-mile-an-hour tsunami also kills slowly.