Field Hospital Established as NTT Earthquake Response Accelerates
The government continues to accelerate its handling of the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday (15/8). As of Sunday (16/8), a joint team together with the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) was still conducting sweeps at a number of affected points to record and confirm the number of victims.
“To support emergency medical services, one field hospital has been established and is operating in Reok District, Manggarai Regency,” said Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre, Berton S.P. Panjaitan, in a written statement.
In addition to ensuring health services, the government is working to open transport access to support aid distribution and the evacuation process. Based on the latest monitoring, the land route connecting Larantuka and Maumere is now connected and passable by vehicles.
However, challenges remain on other routes. “The response team is still trying to find alternative routes because the land road connecting Ende to Nagekeo remains cut off due to the earthquake,” Berton added.
The major earthquake had a significant impact on residents. A total of 47 people were recorded dead and more than 5,000 people were forced to flee due to severe damage to their residential buildings. Based on BNPB data as of Sunday (16/8) at 00.00 WIB, the distribution of displaced persons includes:
The disaster’s impact was also reported to have been felt as far as Bima and the Selayar Islands. Currently, fulfilling basic rights and logistics is the main priority, especially in Manggarai Regency, which still requires emergency tents, 30 tonnes of rice, medicines, blankets, folding beds, clean water tanks, and generators.
The East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government is processing a decree to establish a 14-day emergency response status. Meanwhile, several regencies have independently declared emergency status:
This step is followed by the establishment of command posts in each region to coordinate the acceleration of emergency handling on the ground.