Kuwaitis in Indonesia safe after earthquake

KUALA LUMPUR: All Kuwaiti citizen are safe from the earthquake that hit both islands of Bali and Lombok recently, the embassy said in a statement yesterday. In cooperation with local authorities, the embassy checked if there are any Kuwaiti victims or injuries; which there was none, the statement noted. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled AlHamad Al-Sabah ordered all Kuwaiti citizens in both islands to be moved to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, and the embassy is currently arranging for them return home, it pointed out. Indonesia is hit by earthquakes on a yearly basis due to its location within the ‘Ring of Fire’; an area close to the Pacific Ocean and one of the most vulnerable areas to earthquakes in the world.

The earthquake has caused the displacement of some 70,000 people, suffering from shortages of food, water and medicine, a local official announced. Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) for Information Data and Public Relations Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said yesterday that they face many difficulties in shelters despite intensified evacuation and rescue efforts. Roads and bridges are damaged, there is a difficulty in reaching affected areas to deliver aid and there are not enough volunteers, Nugroho pointed out, adding that there is a great need for medicine and food. Relief and rescue teams continue to remove debris from collapsed buildings, houses and mosques, especially in the northern and eastern regions. At least 105 people were killed and 236 others injured in the powerful magnitude7 tremor. — KUNA