Quake relief operation hits snags

JAKARTA (JP): The huge relief operation now underway in the earthquake-stricken regency of Gunung Kerinci in Jambi, Sumatra, was beset yesterday by problems in channeling relief supplies to the quake victims.

Many villages that were devastated by Saturday's powerful earthquake remained in urgent need of food, medicines and blankets, according to reports reaching Jakarta yesterday.

There appeared to be no problem with the deployment of dozens of doctors, surgeons and paramedics, including those sent by the Armed Forces, to treat the thousands of injured people.

An official at one of the command posts set up to deal with the disaster told The Jakarta Post yesterday that rescue workers and troops were still going through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of further survivors and bodies.

By yesterday afternoon, however, they had not found any new fatalities, and the death toll remained at 80, Suhaimi, the official, said by phone from Jambi.

Saturday's earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, devastated the regent town of Sungaipenuh and nearby towns and villages at the foot of Mt. Kerinci.

Treatment

Jambi officials said nearly 5,000 houses were destroyed and another 5,000 damaged by the quake. In all, around 64,000 people were displaced.

Despite the arrival of medical teams from Jakarta and other towns, treatment of all of the 2,200 people injured remained a difficult task. Because of a shortage of facilities, some of the injured have been sent to hospitals in Padang and Jambi, Suhaimi said.

Panic gripped many of the survivors after a tremor shook them yesterday afternoon, just as they thought that the aftershocks had ended. Antara reported that the tremor measured 3.0 on the Richter scale.

Most of the survivors have been living in make-shift tents and are anxiously awaiting the word from Jambi authorities that it is safe for them to return to what are left of their homes.

Their situation has been made worse by the rain that has continued pouring since Sunday.

Reports from Jambi, meanwhile, said that cash and cash pledges, blankets, medicines and food flowed in yesterday from Jakarta and various other parts of Indonesia to beef up the relief operations.

An employee of a state warehouse on Jl. Slamet Riyadi in Jambi said the facility was still taking in donations sent directly by the public.

However, Suara Pembaruan reported yesterday that a number of villages have not received any assistance yet.

Jambi Governor Abdurrahman Sayoeti acknowledged that his office was having difficulties in distributing the relief aid because of the distance from Jambi and the scattered locations of the districts affected by the earthquake.

Rain has also hampered the relief operation, with one convoy taking no less than 10 hours of drive from Jambi to the Gunung Kerinci area, Antara reported.

President Soeharto is scheduled to visit the disaster area today and is expected to meet with some of the survivors to give them words of encouragement.

Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, in her capacity as chairwoman of the Indonesian Red Cross, toured the stricken villages yesterday as did Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas.

The disaster has produced its share of profiteers.

Intercity bus companies have doubled their fares from Jambi to the Gunung Kerinci regency from the normal Rp 8,000 as they seek to cash in on the surge in travelers.

Many shops in Sungaipenuh have also doubled their prices as shortages of food and other products loom. A liter of kerosene, for example, was selling for Rp 800 yesterday, instead of the normal Rp 400, according to Antara. (rms/anr)