NTT Earthquake Update: 75 Dead, Hundreds of Schools Severely Damaged
The number of fatalities from the earthquake that struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) continues to rise. As of Thursday afternoon (20/8), the death toll was reported at 75.
“Yesterday we reported 71 lives lost. Today the figure has increased by four, with details of two additional deaths in Sikka Regency, one in Manggarai Regency, and one in Nagekeo,” said Berton SP Panjaitan, Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre, during a BNPB press conference on Thursday (20/8).
BNPB also reported 907 people injured as a result of the earthquake. In addition, due to the large number of aftershocks, the number of displaced people has also increased.
“At present, we have recorded 92,735 people, up from the previous figure of 59,647,” he said.
The largest increase in displaced people came from Nagekeo Regency, with 21,883 people. This was followed by an increase of 9,649 people from Manggarai Regency and 1,556 people from West Manggarai Regency.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Atip Latipulhayat reported that 502 schools suffered severe damage due to the earthquake.
“In the education sector, the earthquake has affected 1,378 educational units. Of these, 502 schools are reported to be severely damaged across seven regencies, affecting 177,678 pupils and 21,166 teachers and education personnel,” said Atip.
Atip said that following the earthquake, 923 schools were temporarily closed, 30 schools continued face-to-face learning, 35 operated emergency schools, and 171 conducted distance learning.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is preparing emergency classrooms in stages for severely damaged schools through the distribution of 100 classroom tents.
“The implementation of learning follows the policy of the NTT Governor to conduct learning from home and at evacuation sites in order to avoid buildings that could potentially collapse and cause injury due to the ongoing aftershocks,” said Atip.