The number of people believed missing from the quake and tsunami that struck Indonesia’s Palu city has soared to 5,000, an official said Sunday, an indication that far more may have perished in the twin disaster than the current toll, Agence-France Presse reports. Aid agencies are gearing up for a major relief operation to help the survivors in Palu and other areas as the United Nations makes an appeal for $50.5 million to assist more than 190,000 people over the next three months, VOA News reports. An estimated 65,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, with more than 70,000 people made homeless. The death toll from Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami is expected to grow. Officials say more than 1,700 people are now dead.