Quake victims need more tarpaulins
Quake victims need more tarpaulins
Yemris Fointuna and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Kupang/Jakarta
Thousands of people on Alor island in East Nusa Tenggara who have
been left homeless by a strong earthquake on Friday are in dire
need of tarpaulins, while the death toll in the disaster has
risen to 27.
Provincial social services bureau director Fransiskus Salem
said on Wednesday that the quake victims required thousands more
tarpaulins as only 1,000 had arrived in the area since the main
quake jolted the island.
He said the residents were reluctant to start rebuilding their
homes for fear of aftershocks.
"Many of the victims are currently staying in open areas or
seeking shelter. They need tarpaulins to erect tents near their
damaged homes," Salem said.
A relief team member, Gerson Imang, said the residents badly
needed tarpaulins as heavy rain was likely to fall next week.
"They will have no protection from the rain," he explained.
Gerson said that continuing aftershocks remained a real
threat. A man was found dead beneath a landslide that followed a
number of powerful aftershocks that jolted the island on
Wednesday morning.
Later in the day, a three-year-old girl died in the local
hospital due to the severe injuries she had received following
the main quake on Saturday.
The two fatalities, identified as Petrus Lauden, 30, and
Yakomina Manimun, brought the death toll in the disaster to 27,
with over 100 others injured.
"Aftershocks continue to be felt in East Alor, North Alor and
Central North Alor districts, while in Kalabahi district the
tremors have subsided," Gerson said.
The main quake and its aftershocks leveled over 5,000
buildings, mostly homes, and caused serious damage to 4,800 other
buildings. Churches, mosques and school buildings are among the
public facilities flattened by the quakes.
Gerson said rescue workers were facing difficulties in getting
aid to isolated areas due to the absence of air transportation.
The areas were no longer accessible by land, he added.
In Jakarta, the central government is calculating the amount
of money needed to reconstruct the buildings damaged by the
earthquake following a request from Alor regent Ans Takalapeta
for Rp 100 billion (US$11.11 million) in rehabilitation aid.
Minister of Social Services Bachtiar Chamsyah said after a
Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that he would verify the amount of
money needed.
"As it concerns public accountability, we have to check
whether it is true that the earthquake damaged 400,000 homes.
Maybe the figure is not that high and they do not need so much
money," Bachtiar said.
The minister said the government had allocated Rp 3 million
for the family of each fatality victim and another Rp 1 billion
for urgent reconstruction projects.
Humanitarian aid from abroad has been pouring into the island,
however.
Australia has provided emergency aid of A$50,000 to help the
quake victims, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, David
Ritchie, said.
"Emergency Australian-funded aid reached victims within hours
of Friday's powerful earthquake. Australian funds are also
providing shelter for another 670 families and we stand ready to
offer further assistance if required," Ritchie said in a press
statement.
China and Japan also provided humanitarian aid worth US$50,000
and US$100,000 respectively on Wednesday.