Govt struggles to provide aid for natural disaster victims
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare admitted that it is overwhelmed and struggling to provide sustained assistance to more than 1.2 million survivors of natural disasters that have occurred since April 2000.
The massive number does not include the estimated 1.05 million internally displaced people (IDP) caused by widespread riots and communal conflicts.
"Natural disasters took place in many provinces and frankly we are overwhelmed," Minister of Health and Social Welfare Achmad Sujudi said on the sidelines of a session with Commission VII at the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday.
"We have distributed medicine, food and all the necessary aid to the areas but we cannot be constantly doing it due to lack of funds...so we need help from other donors," Sujudi said.
The ministry received Rp 5.1 trillion for the 2001 fiscal year.
Sujudi pointed out that among the most immediate aid required was during the aftermath of a disaster where devastated areas are usually prone to outbreaks of diseases such as diarrhea and medical problems such as skin rashes or respiratory problems.
Secretary-general of the National Board of Social Welfare Ferry Johannes pointed out that despite having returned to their homes following a natural disaster, survivors still need various kinds of assistance.
Ferry noted that victims of natural disasters are usually forgotten once the immediate disaster has subsided, unlike internally displaced people who are often considered more 'permanent' refugees.
"They may have returned home but they are still victims of a disaster," Ferry told The Jakarta Post.
The board recorded some 1.2 million survivors of natural disasters from April 2000 up to early February in East Java, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Lampung, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Aceh, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, Jambi and Banten.
These numbers exclude those killed or missing.
The calamities, ranging from floods, landslides, typhoons to earthquakes, destroyed thousands of buildings, fields of crops and infrastructure such as roads and bridges with billions of rupiah in losses, Ferry added.
Meanwhile data up to Feb. 6 showed that there are 1.05 million internally displaced people in 19 provinces, with Maluku and North Maluku topping the list with 216,000 and 197,000 refugees respectively.
Southeast Sulawesi is sheltering 154,000 refugees fleeing unrest from Maluku, East Timor, Poso in Central Sulawesi and Sambas in West Kalimantan.
East Nusa Tenggara has some 137,000 refugees from East Timor and Ambon islands in Maluku.
The remaining refugees are scattered in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra; West, Central and East Java; Bali, NTB, West Kalimantan; South, Central and North Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.
In a separate development on Tuesday, rescue workers in Lebak regency, Banten, continued their search for dozens of gold miners buried by landslides.
The death toll from last week's landslide is estimated to have reached 106.
In West Java, the railway link between Cianjur and Sukabumi was also severed due to landslides and the overflow of Cimandiri river.
"Torrential rains have been pouring since Sunday," spokesman of state-owned railway company PT KAI Akhmad Sujadi said on Tuesday.
"The area has been closed since Sunday as it was hit by floods and landslides which took place at four train station locations, namely Gandasoli - Cirengas, Cirengas - Lampegan, Cianjur - Lampegan and Lampegan - Cibeber," Akhmad said.
In Gandasoli - Cirengas floods swept away a 30-meter track due to the overflowing Cimandiri river while in Lampegan mudflows reached three meters high, he said.
"We don't know when trains will be operational again since it could take months to fix the route."
"We have no choice but to halt train operations plying Bandung - Sukabumi," he said. (edt/25)