Death toll of Nabire quakes up to 37
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in the Papua town of Nabire rose to 37 on Thursday, an official said.
Another 592 residents were injured, some seriously, in the earthquake on Feb. 6, which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale -- thought to be the largest quake in the region since 2000.
"The death toll will probably rise because searches are still taking place in the more remote areas here," said First Brig. Edy Thalib of the Papua Natural Disaster and Refugee Management Task Force in Nabire.
According to the task force, 858 residential houses, 53 places of worship, 25 school buildings and nine bridges were destroyed in the earthquake and its aftershocks.
Residents have been reluctant to return to their homes because of the frequent aftershocks, the latest occurring on Thursday.
Mardianto from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Nabire said he could not say when the aftershocks would end, but that there would not be another earthquake as big as the one on Feb. 6 at the same epicenter.
Edy said malaria and dysentery had begun to sweep through the quake survivors, many of whom are living in tents.
"A total of 803 people have been treated at the Nabire hospital for malaria and dysentery," he said.
Food and medicine from various sources is arriving in the city.
"A medical team just arrived today, but we have not yet confirmed where they came from because they went directly to the stricken residents," he said.
Aid from as far away as Japan has been promised to victims, but much of it has yet to reach Nabire.
The aid from Japan, including 120 generators, 70 tents and 3,000 blankets, will be transported from Halim airport in Jakarta to Biak, Papua, aboard an Air Force Hercules aircraft.
"According to the plan, the aid will be transported aboard a Navy ship from Biak to Nabire today (Thursday). The Hercules plane could not land at the airport in Nabire because of a crack about 250 meters long in the runway caused by the quake," Arnold Wakum of the task force said.
The task force has also been helped by a helicopter for relief missions and to search for victims in those areas that cannot be reached overland.
To help prevent the spread of disease in the are, the provincial health office will dispatch teams to Nabire.
"There are still no reports on post-quake diseases, but the health office will send teams to the area," said Paminto Widodo from the Health Crisis Center at the Papua Health Office.
Separately, the Chinese government extended on Thursday a donation of US$50,000 for the victims of the earthquake in Nabire, Papua.
In a message to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Chinese President Hu Jintao extended his sympathy for the victims and their families.
"President Hu expressed his confidence that under the leadership of Megawati, the Indonesian people in the disaster area will certainly overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homeland," the Chinese Embassy said in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post.
Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Lu Shumin presented the donation to the director general of Asia-Pacific and African affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makarim Wibisono.
Lu said $40,000 of the donation would be channeled to the quake victims through the government, with the remainder of the money going to the Indonesian Red Cross.