Some 4,300 people were listed as dead or missing while nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation after their homes were destroyed, according to the Red Cross. The force of the impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled, with the earth turning to quicksand. Elsa Lawira, whose seven-year-old son died in the disaster, was among some 3,000 people at Saturday's vigil, which was held in badly-hit Balaroa district.
"The past year has been traumatic," the 36-year-old Lawira told AFP as she sobbed. "My only wish is that God will protect my son and a disaster like this never happens again." Former Balaroa resident Lusiana lost her mother, father, and a sibling in the double catastrophe. "My life has been just empty this past year," she said. The disaster also destroyed fishing boats, shops, and irrigation systems, robbing many locals of their income.