An appeal for help has been launched to raise money for the survivors of the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami.

The Whitechapel Road based charity Muslim Aid called for donations from Tower Hamlets following the 7.4 magnitude quake on the island of Sulawesi which triggered 20 foot high waves and claimed the lives of 1,948 people.

Somsul Islam, community and fundraising officer for London, said: “British people have always responded generously to such catastrophes in the past.

“We care for those less fortunate than ourselves in this country.”

Mr Islam, 40, called on the borough’s mosques and community centres to hold collections with the charity’s help by registering an interest on its website.

The tsunami resulted in waves crashing onto the coast of Sulawesi destroying thousands of homes and causing devastation around its provincial capital, Palu, and along the coastline, leaving Donggala and other cities in ruins and without power. 

According to the charity, 191,000 people are urgently in need of aid including food, water, and medicine.

It hopes to raise £200,000 after smashing its original £120,000 target after a few days. 

Muslim Aid’s Fadlullah Wilmot, who recently returned from the quake hit Indonesian island of Lombok wrecked by five quakes in the summer, said: “I don’t have words for what the people have suffered. I didn’t expect to be returning to Indonesia so soon for another emergency, and one so terrifying.”

The charity has teamed up with an Indonesian charity to support the aid organisation Global Medic as it searches for survivors, delivers water purification tablets and emergency kits.

Ms Wilmot said: “Our strong in-country office and partner organisations will do everything we can to support those traumatised by this tsunami.”

It is possible to donate online or call Muslim Aid on 020 7377 4200.