Thousands of people are still waiting for help on the Indonesian island of Flores as the country celebrates its 81st Independence Day on Monday, days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 68 people, injured more than 200 and damaged hundreds of homes and other buildings.
Many residents of Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara Province spent the day mourning the victims and waiting for aid to reach communities still isolated by the devastating earthquake.
During Indonesia’s Independence Day ceremony in the capital, Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto asked participants to pray for those affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara and other parts of the country, while leading a nationwide moment of silence in honor of the country’s independence heroes.
More than 1,300 homes were damaged when the quake hit East Nusa Tenggara province on Saturday, destroying nearly 250 homes in Flores alone. About 5,000 people were forced to take refuge in temporary shelters and 213 people were injured, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
The governor declared a 14-day state of emergency on Sunday.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey, and residents fled in panic after tsunami warnings were issued, but they were later lifted. Authorities have since recorded 1,576 aftershocks as of Monday, although only a small percentage were felt by residents.
Thousands wait for aid amid the devastation
Thousands of people in Flores camped outside their collapsed homes under tarpaulin tents overnight into Monday, sleeping outside because of the risk of more aftershocks.
An Associated Press photojournalist saw widespread devastation across the island, as fallen trees blocked roads, giant boulders were toppled onto slopes by landslides, and homes were left crushed or severely damaged. Buildings collapsed onto parked cars.
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For many residents, the disaster revived painful memories of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Flores in 1992, killing about 2,500 people.
“My house is just rubble now,” said Rashid Jaafar, a clothing trader in Rio Village, the worst-hit area in Manggarai District. “We urgently need food, medicine and clean water.”
Nearly 1,500 military and police personnel have been deployed across the disaster area, supported by 10 aircraft to distribute 275 tons of aid to the area as logistical challenges have slowed deliveries to some hard-hit communities, BNPB Vice President Abdel Mahari said in a video statement.
Mohari said that the authorities established two emergency field hospitals in the worst-hit town of Ruteng to treat earthquake victims after local hospitals were damaged, with two crisis management teams supervising the emergency health operations center.
He added that rescue teams continue to search for victims in the affected areas, although residents have not reported any family members missing.
Rescuers struggle to reach isolated communities
Authorities said relief workers arrived on the small island of Palu, one of the areas closest to the epicenter, late on Sunday, after a difficult sea and land journey across terrain affected by landslides. Thousands of residents remained in dire need of assistance after days of isolation.
“The roads are steep and many of them were blocked by landslides. It was a near-death journey,” said Marcellus Yugo Amboro, deputy police chief of Sika District, whose team was among the first to arrive on the island with emergency supplies.
He said initial assessments revealed extensive damage, with one villager killed, two seriously injured, and nearly 150 homes destroyed.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.
In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on the island of Sulawesi, killing more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including nearly 170,000 in Aceh alone.
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