Anxiety haunts quake victims in Bengkulu

Anxiety haunts quake victims in Bengkulu

JAKARTA (JP): After overcoming the initial horror of last
week's powerful earthquake, a sense of insecurity and
apprehension has begun to descend upon the people of Bengkulu.

The director of Muhammad Yunus General Hospital, Zayadi
Hussein, remarked on Sunday that there had also been increasing
symptoms of clinical depression among residents.

He said heightened fears of tremors or other sudden drastic
developments were taxing the minds of many.

"The aftershocks on Saturday which were followed by hundreds
of minor jolts have traumatized residents," Zayadi was quoted by
Antara as saying.

The most evident symptom was that people were overacting to
even the most minor things.

He pointed out that people rush out of buildings and into the
street at even the slightest vibration, such the rumble caused by
a passing truck.

He also said the paranoia had reached a level where some
people would rush to wake up their neighbors and warn them of an
impending quake, even though the night had been calm.

"Another form of depression is that locals prefer to stay in
makeshift tents rather than their houses, even if the weather is
bad," Zayadi added.

The powerful earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale on
June 4, which claimed at least 90 lives and injured another
1,300, has been followed by several tremors.

The largest series of aftershocks occurred on Saturday, with
three jolts measuring between 4.9 and 6 on the Richter scale.

A Bengkulu resident, Thamrin, when asked acknowledged that he
and many other residents were in a state of sustained dubiety.

He admitted that people had become afraid to sleep at night
and also found it difficult to return to work because they could
not concentrate.

But Bengkulu Psychiatric Hospital director R. Budi Muljanto
said the depression had not reached a level serious enough to
require special treatment.

Separately, pledges of assistance continued on Sunday, with
Malaysia committing humanitarian aid worth US$100,000 to the
victims of the earthquake.

Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said his country
would soon decide on the exact type of assistance it would make
available. (bby/jun)