BNPB Verifies 77,912 Damaged Houses Following NTT Earthquake to Ensure Aid Reaches Right Targets

As many as 77,912 houses in seven regencies of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have been recorded as damaged by the earthquake. Of that number, 24,597 houses are categorised as severely damaged, 18,537 as moderately damaged, and 34,776 as lightly damaged.

Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre, Berton SP Panjaitan, said the seven affected regencies include Nagekeo, Ende, Manggarai, East Manggarai, West Manggarai, Ngada, and Sikka. However, these figures will still be verified to ensure the level of damage and the actual homeowners.

According to him, the verification is being carried out by BNPB together with the Deputy for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction team in the seven regencies. This step is part of efforts to accelerate the transition from the emergency response period to rehabilitation and reconstruction.

‘For the 7 regencies, assistance is currently being provided by the deputy for rehabilitation and reconstruction team at BNPB to carry out verification. This is to accelerate, of course, the transition from the emergency response period directly to the rehabilitation and reconstruction period,’ said Berton Panjaitan.

Berton said the data collection does not only concern the physical condition of buildings, but also matches residents’ identities through their population identification numbers (NIK) and family card numbers (KK).

‘So there are no situations where a person’s house is reported damaged when someone else owns it, or other such matters. Of course, we will carry this out carefully, so that no residents’ rights are overlooked,’ he added.

According to him, the current assistance is focused on accelerating the assessment of damage levels. BNPB is also preparing standards and damage values based on applicable regulations.

The results of the data collection and assessment will later be set out in the Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Plan (R3P) document. This document will serve as the basis for handling various damages, from residents’ houses to infrastructure such as bridges.

In addition to handling physical damage, psychosocial support services are also being continuously provided to affected communities in several regencies. These services are being carried out in Sikka, Nagekeo, and Manggarai Regencies.

According to Berton, in Sikka, the psychosocial support service team is providing assistance to residents who previously took refuge at the Samador Maumere Sports Hall. Some residents are now gradually returning to their homes.

Meanwhile in Nagekeo, services are being provided at three locations, including Aeramo and Lapangan Mandiri. The considerable distance between evacuation sites is one of the challenges for the team in reaching affected residents.