JAKARTA - The death toll from the devastating
                  earthquake and tidal waves that hit Indonesia's
                  Central Sulawesi province rose to 40 on Monday.

                  The state Antara news agency said that an estimated
                  23,000 houses and government buildings were
                  destroyed by the quake, which devastated the islands
                  of Peleng and Banggai and left thousands homeless.

                  Scores of coastal villages on the islands were
                  reported to have been flattened by tidal waves
                  following the temblor, which measured 6.5 on the
                  Richter scale.

                  Local officials had said that up to 80 per cent of
                  houses along the coast were destroyed. -- AFP

                       Adapted from The Straits Times, 8 May 2000.