Indonesia said Saturday that the death toll from last month's powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Central Sulawesi province has risen to 1,649, as a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force transport plane arrived in the provincial capital as part of international relief operations.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the number of people listed as missing has more than doubled from 113 the previous day to 265, the number of people with serious injuries remains unchanged at 2,549.

The number of people displaced has decreased from 70,821 to 62,359 as residents who sought refuge following the Sept. 28 quake and tsunami and have starting returning home or relocating to outside the province.

The ASDF C-130 transport plane arrived in the provincial capital Palu, bringing humanitarian relief goods from the nearby island of Kalimantan. Foreign aid is being directed to Kalimantan across the Makassar Strait because parts of Palu's airport were damaged by tremors.

(Japan's relief goods at Palu airport)

After arriving in Palu, Col. Masashi Ota, who is directing Japan's transportation operation, told reporters that he wants to provide support to the victims as quickly as possible.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has donated equipment including 500 tents, 80 generators and 20 water purifiers, which earlier arrived in Balikpapan, the main city on Kalimantan.

Also on board were some 50 ASDF personnel, including eight tasked with assessing damage and the needs of victims. The group departed Wednesday from Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the aircraft will be transporting supplies from Kalimantan to Sulawesi daily.

Cargo planes from countries including Singapore, New Zealand and Australia are already involved in the effort to transport supplies to Palu.