RESCUE officials voiced fears today that the current death toll of over 800 for Indonesia's earthquake and tsunami could climb far higher, as several large coastal towns remain cut off.

The country's disaster agency said that fatalities had more than doubled to 832, most of them in the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi. The municipalities of Donggala, Sigi and Parigi Moutong, with combined populations of 1.2 million, had yet to be fully assessed.

"The death toll is believed to be still increasing since many bodies are still under the wreckage, while many have not been reached," said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.