Experts warn of quake relief mistakes

Experts warn of quake relief mistakes

BANDUNG (JP): Researchers have warned that mismanagement and
the transformation of the Bengkulu earthquake into a "political
commodity" was inflicting damaging trauma and huge material
losses to an area and its people already suffering from natural
disaster.

After a four-day visit to the region, the researchers, from
the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and grouped in the
Indonesian Urban Disaster Mitigation Project, also lamented on
Saturday the "inaccurate and exaggerated news" coverage of the
disaster.

The team cited an example of how political figures used the
occasion to criticize the President rather than make a
significant contribution to ease the victims' burden.

The experts, consisting of geophysics and seismic structure
experts, also said misinformation and a lack of understanding
were having a negative psychological effect.

"We visited Bengkulu and Enggano island, which previously had
been reported to have suffered 90 percent destruction.
Information like that is certainly damaging to victims'
psychological states," team leader Krisna S. Pribadi said.

"It turns out that the damage is actually only about 20
percent and there are incompatible facts between the number of
victims, the damage and the tremor magnitude."

He pointed out that out of every six houses that were rocked
by the earthquake, only one was destroyed while the others were
still livable in.

The researchers claimed the source of the inaccurate
information was the provincial Natural Disaster Coordinating Unit
(Satkorlak).

"The unit (Satkorlak) was not prepared at all and started to
spread false information about the quake which added to people's
psychological burden," team member Jodi Firmansjah added.

Satkorlak's major mistake was distributing donations equally
between those who still had adequate housing and those who had
lost their homes, Jodi said.

"Many of those who actually still have functional homes are
unwilling to go back to them, preferring to stay in tents or
shelters with the rest of the victims," Jodi said. (25/edt)