Palue Residents Rely on Rainwater, Storage Facilities Damaged by Earthquake

Residents of Palue Island, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), are still relying on rainwater to meet their daily needs after an earthquake struck the region. The problem is that residents’ rainwater storage facilities were also damaged by the earthquake.

Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General TNI Dr. Suharyanto said this condition is one of the government’s concerns in handling the post-earthquake situation in Palue.

“It turns out that the community, our brothers and sisters on Palue Island, rely on rainwater for their daily lives. Unfortunately, the facilities for collecting rainwater were damaged, and these are also being repaired,” said Suharyanto on Monday (24/8).

In addition to water, the government continues to distribute logistics, food, medicine, and support transportation for the people of Palue, while a number of patients requiring further treatment have also been evacuated off the island.

Among them is Yohanis Riba, 75, a resident of Nitunhlea Village, Palue, who was evacuated by a National Police helicopter to TC Hillers Hospital in Maumere for treatment. Both of Yohanis’s legs were crushed by building material that collapsed during the earthquake.

According to him, access to the affected areas is currently improving. There are no longer any roads completely cut off due to landslides or bridge damage, although infrastructure repairs are still ongoing. “However, it has not recovered to the condition before the disaster, but functionally everything can now be passed through,” he explained.

Meanwhile, to accelerate the distribution of aid, the government has deployed 16 aircraft, including helicopters and wide-body planes. Ground support has also been prepared through 27 trucks in Labuan Bajo, 18 trucks in Maumere, and around 200 motorcycles.

Aid distribution is carried out based on community needs collected in stages from the grassroots level. In locations that are difficult to reach by vehicle, aid even has to be delivered on foot.

Suharyanto said the availability of logistics at the command post is still sufficient to support community needs for the next one to two weeks. However, distribution to independent evacuees remains a challenge because evacuation points are scattered across several areas.

For this reason, he continued, BNPB is strengthening task forces at the district and city levels to reach residents who are still staying at independent evacuation sites.