Flores Earthquake Damages 19,297 Homes in NTT
The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has recorded 19,297 damaged homes as a result of the earthquake that shook the Flores region on Saturday (15/8).
The data is the result of temporary collection up to Tuesday (18/8) at 09.00 Wita. The damage is spread across eight regencies: Manggarai, West Manggarai, East Manggarai, Ende, Sikka, Ngada, Nagekeo, and East Sumba.
Head of the NTT Provincial BPBD, Mahadin Sibarani, said the number of damaged homes may still change because the verification process in the field is ongoing.
“This data on house damage is the result of temporary collection and may still change according to the results of field verification,” said Mahadin.
Based on the level of damage, the NTT BPBD recorded 6,463 heavily damaged homes, 2,481 moderately damaged homes, and 12,006 lightly damaged homes.
East Manggarai is the area with the highest number of affected homes, reaching 7,480 units. In the BPBD data, this figure is recorded as the total number of damaged homes, while details by category of heavy, moderate, and light damage are not yet available separately.
In West Manggarai, 3,493 homes suffered damage. This number consists of 1,410 heavily damaged homes, 635 moderately damaged, and 1,448 lightly damaged.
Meanwhile, Manggarai Regency recorded 1,983 affected homes. A total of 1,597 homes were categorised as heavily damaged, 263 moderately damaged, and 123 lightly damaged.
Damage also occurred in Nagekeo with a total of 2,862 homes. Of that number, 1,373 homes were heavily damaged, 260 moderately damaged, and 1,229 lightly damaged.
In Ngada, the BPBD recorded 2,296 affected homes. The breakdown is 698 heavily damaged homes, 465 moderately damaged, and 1,133 lightly damaged.
Ende recorded 951 damaged homes, consisting of 285 heavily damaged homes, 149 moderately damaged, and 537 lightly damaged.
In Sikka, 227 homes were affected. A total of 158 homes suffered heavy damage, 18 moderate damage, and 51 light damage.
East Sumba is the area with the least damage, with five homes. All affected homes in that area were categorised as lightly damaged.
Mahadin stressed that collecting data on house damage is an important aspect of post-disaster handling. The data is needed to determine aid requirements, repair residents’ homes, and restore affected public service facilities.
The NTT BPBD together with regency governments continues to update data on damage and the impact of the earthquake. The updating is carried out so that aid and the recovery process can be adjusted to the conditions of the community in each area.
“The most important thing is to ensure that the needs of affected communities are properly recorded so that the handling and recovery process can be carried out according to conditions in the field,” said Mahadin.