Survivors appeal for relief
At least 268 killed in Cianjur earthquake
Survivors of an Indonesian earthquake that killed at least 268 people appealed for food and water yesterday, as rescuers picked through devastated villages with hopes of finding anyone alive fading.
The calls for help came as authorities warned that debris from landslides caused by the strong quake near the town of Cianjur in West Java needed to be cleared ahead of heavy rains forecast in the coming weeks, threatening a second disaster.
Two days after the quake flattened their homes, residents were still trying to retrieve priceless belongings including family photos, religious books and marriage certificates.
“Although some supplies have arrived, it is not enough. We got rice, instant noodles, mineral water but it’s not enough,” Mustafa, a 23-year-old resident of Gasol village, said.
Mustafa had just dug through the rubble of an elderly neighbour’s house at her request, appearing from the destroyed facade carrying a pile of clothes before returning to collect rice, a gas stove, canisters and frying pans.
“We have no clothes and we have not changed for days, so I am digging through the rubble to find some clothes.”
More than 58,000 people have been displaced by the quake, around 1,000 are injured and 151 missing, with more than half of the dead still to be identified, the national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Tuesday.
The government has dispatched tents and other supplies to Cianjur for the displaced, and the military sent 12,000 personnel yesterday to help rescue and aid efforts, officials said.
“For the refugees... their basic life necessities must be guaranteed, water, food, that’s non-negotiable,” BNPB chief Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told a press conference yesterday.
But another resident appealed to Jakarta to send more stocks because of shortages.
“My child has a fever and she can’t eat. There are many children and old people here. Children need milk, diapers, food and medicine,” said 30-yearold Yunisa Yuliani.
Dede Masliyah, a 45-year-old evacuee living in a makeshift tent, said the survivors had yet to receive any aid and were battered by heavy rains overnight.
“We are lacking food and medicines. We desperately need a proper tent because there are many children and small babies here,” she said.
Indonesia is vulnerable to landslides and flash floods in the rainy season, which has already begun and peaks in December in West Java. Heavy thunderstorms are forecast for Cianjur in the weeks ahead, and the country’s weather bureau warned the town is prone to another disaster.