By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial government has declared a 14-day emergency response status following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Flores Island on Saturday (Aug. 15).
Governor Melki Laka Lena said the status, effective from August 15 to 28, was aimed at accelerating disaster response efforts while facilitating access, coordination and communication among agencies in mobilising available resources.
“The emergency response status is intended to accelerate the handling of the disaster’s impact, while facilitating access, coordination and communication among all parties in mobilising all available resources,” he said in a social media post today.
The earthquake struck at 4:58 am local time, with its epicentre in the sea about 30 kilometres (km) from Mbay, Nagekeo district, at a depth of 15 km, prompting a tsunami warning, that the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) lifted at 7:31 am after sea-level observations showed no further significant rise.
In a separate statement, National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said similar emergency measures have been formally declared by several affected regencies, with Manggarai declaring a 90-day emergency response period from August 15 to November 13 and establishing a disaster response command post.
BNPB Data, Information and Disaster Communication Centre’s acting head, Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, said Ngada declared a 30-day emergency response period from August 15 to September 15 and established a command post, while East Manggarai imposed a disaster emergency alert status until September 4.
Berton said the death toll remained at 47, while 101 people were injured, and the earthquake was followed by 341 aftershocks.
Preliminary assessments also showed 914 houses were severely damaged, 126 moderately damaged and 317 sustained minor damage, while 93 educational facilities, 36 health facilities and 38 government offices were affected.
Meanwhile, ANTARA News Agency reported that 9,290 people remained at evacuation sites as of midnight Saturday, citing Berton.
Separately, BNPB chief, Suharyanto, in a statement said four military helicopters and naval vessels, Basarnas ships and aircraft, as well as two BNPB fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter were being deployed, primarily to deliver logistics to areas that were difficult to reach. – BERNAMA
