Thousands await aid after deadly Indonesian quake in Flores that killed 51

Ruteng, Indonesia - Help started arriving on Aug 16 for thousands of evacuees on Indonesia’s Flores island after a powerful earthquake killed 51 people, injured dozens and damaged hundreds of houses and buildings.

Some 5,000 people fled their homes as the 7.7-magnitude quake hit the island early on Aug 15, followed by 341 aftershocks in the hours that followed, a spokesman for the BNPB national disaster agency, Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, said.

Thirty-six people were seriously injured in the quake in East Nusa Tenggara province, while 77 had minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus told a televised meeting.

People in some areas were left without electricity and telecommunications and at least one emergency access road remained inaccessible.

“We need food, drink, medicines, and diapers for the children,” Umri, a resident of Nangahale village on the north coast of Flores, said on Aug 16.

The 55-year-old, who like many Indonesians uses one name, has been hiding out on a hilltop for 24 hours with others afraid to return home.

Nurhidayati, also 55, spent the night on a mat on the same hill.

“I’m still terrified; my heart is pounding hard remembering yesterday’s tremor... We just ran up here yesterday. I’m very scared now, still traumatised by the quake in 1992. I don’t dare to go home,” she said.

Flores was struck by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992 that triggered a tsunami and killed about 2,500 people.

“I hope the government will soon distribute logistics to help us,” said Nurhidayati.

BNPB head Suharyanto said on Aug 16 at least five helicopters, several planes, a naval vessel and search and rescue ships were were on their way to help.

‘We stand with you’

Berton said at least 101 Flores residents were reported injured.

“In addition to the loss of life, the offshore earthquake caused material losses that have paralysed residents’ daily activities,” he said on Aug 16.

Survivors were in urgent need of assistance in the form of emergency tents, food, medicines, blankets, camp beds, mats, clean water and electricity generators, Berton added.

Local search and rescue official Fathur Rahman said on Aug 16 there were no reports of people buried or missing.

The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of the island, geological authorities said.

The affected areas have few, if any, high-rise buildings.

Berton said at least 914 houses were severely damaged and hundreds of others to a lesser degree.

Dozens of public facilities were also stricken, including 93 educational and 36 health facilities, and 38 government offices.

The East Nusa Tenggara provincial government that includes Flores “is processing a decree to establish an emergency response status for the next 14 days,” said Berton.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Aug 15 that preparations were under way to bring aid to thousands in temporary shelters.

The government sent 50,000 aid packages weighing a total of 275 tonnes to the area and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen offered help from the bloc’s Copernicus Earth observation satellites.

“Europe stands ready to deploy Copernicus, our eyes in the sky, to support search and rescue efforts. Indonesia, we stand with you,” she wrote on X.

‘Ring of Fire’

In Ruteng, a town about 200km from the worst-hit part of the island, heavy machinery cleared rubble from the street on Aug 16.

Yohana Raisita Damalia Mari, a spokeswoman for the local hospital, said the building had been badly damaged, and patients were evacuated to tents erected outside.

A woman underwent an emergency C-section in an intact storage room converted into a temporary operating theatre.

“Thank God, the surgery went smoothly and both the patient and her baby are safe,” said Yohana.

Herybertus Geradus Laju Nabit, mayor of the Manggarai regency, said it was impossible to predict when the aftershocks would end.

“Therefore, our first appeal is: be vigilant. Stay alert,” he said.

After the quake, Flores residents ran for the hills as the sea retreated, a possible sign of an approaching tsunami.

A tsunami warning was later lifted, but authorities urged people not to return to damaged buildings for fear that aftershocks may bring them down.

Waves of up to 1.6m were reported in some coastal regions, according to Indonesia’s BMKG geological agency.

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

A devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor in 2004 struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, about 170,000 of them in Indonesia.

It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. AFP, REUTERS