REO, Indonesia, Aug 17: Thousands of people on Indonesia’s Flores island were still awaiting relief on Monday as the country marked its 81st Independence Day, days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 54 people, injured dozens and caused widespread damage.
Many residents spent the national holiday mourning those killed, searching for missing relatives and waiting for assistance as several communities remained cut off following Saturday’s earthquake.
More than 1,300 homes were damaged in East Nusa Tenggara province, including nearly 250 on Flores, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. Around 5,000 people have been forced into temporary shelters, while 135 people were injured.
The provincial governor declared a 14-day state of emergency on Sunday.
The earthquake struck at a depth of about 10 kilometres shortly before 6 am Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey. Residents fled their homes in panic after tsunami warnings were issued and later withdrawn. Authorities have since recorded at least 995 aftershocks, although only 46 were felt by residents.
Thousands of people on Flores spent Sunday night outside damaged or collapsed homes under tarpaulin shelters, fearing further aftershocks.
The earthquake caused extensive destruction across the island, with fallen trees blocking roads, landslides sending huge boulders down slopes and numerous homes either destroyed or severely damaged. Vehicles were also crushed by collapsing structures.
The disaster has revived memories of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Flores in 1992, killing around 2,500 people.
“My house is just rubble now,” said Rasyid Jafar, a clothing trader in Reo village, one of the worst-hit areas. He said residents urgently needed food, medicines and clean drinking water.
More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed to the affected areas, while around 275 tonnes of aid have been delivered. However, logistical difficulties have slowed relief efforts in some of the hardest-hit communities.
Survivors said they were still struggling to access basic facilities, including equipment to prepare food.
“We have nothing left ... Why isn't there a public kitchen?” said Mariana Tewu, another resident of Reo.
Indonesia is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an extensive zone of seismic activity and volcanoes.
The country has experienced several devastating earthquakes in recent decades. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami in Sulawesi, killing more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra generated a massive tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, including nearly 170,000 in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
