Palace: Prabowo to visit NTT earthquake site in the near future
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi has said President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to visit the earthquake-affected areas in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in the near future.
Prasetyo said preparations for President Prabowo’s visit to NTT are currently under way.
“It is being prepared for the near future, God willing, he will go there,” Prasetyo said at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) in Senayan, Jakarta, on Sunday.
However, Prasetyo was unable to confirm exactly when the visit would take place.
“You will be informed later,” he said.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the NTT region in the early hours of Saturday (15/8). The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami early warning, which was later lifted at 7.30 a.m. Western Indonesia Time.
Previously, President Prabowo said the government was working to provide the best possible response for NTT residents affected by the earthquake by deploying relevant agencies to handle conditions on the ground.
“We want to ensure our brothers and sisters there receive fast and maximum emergency treatment,” Prabowo said via his personal Instagram account @prabowo, monitored in Jakarta on Sunday (16/8).
The President also instructed cross-sector cooperation to ensure post-earthquake handling proceeds quickly and on target, and asked relevant agencies to see conditions at the disaster site directly.
The President expressed sympathy and prayers for the affected communities and stressed that safety and the fulfilment of basic needs are the government’s priorities in emergency conditions.
“The safety and basic needs of residents are the most important things at this time,” he said.
As of Saturday (22/8), the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded that the number of residents displaced by the earthquake in parts of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) had reached 150,576 people.
BNPB also reported that the earthquake in the NTT region had caused the deaths of 31 people in Manggarai, 30 people in East Manggarai, nine people in Sikka, two people in Ende, one person in West Manggarai, 13 people in Nagekeo, and four people in Ngada.
Meanwhile, the number of injured earthquake victims according to BNPB data stood at 1,298 people, 336 of whom suffered serious injuries.
A total of 5,832 Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) personnel, 238 Indonesian National Police (Polri) personnel, and 903 volunteers from 104 organisations have been deployed to assist with the earthquake response in the NTT region.