Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has begun reaching hard-to-access villages affected by the earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to assess residents’ needs and ensure aid can be delivered promptly.
BNPB Deputy for Prevention Abdul Muhari said in a statement on Thursday that the first direct assessment was conducted in Kuwus Sub-district, covering Coal Hamlet and Dahang Hamlet.
“We are currently on site and assessing the condition of the community firsthand. The sub-district head has reported that food aid has been provided, and of course, we will continue to follow up on this,” Muhari said.
He explained that the two villages in Kuwus, West Manggarai, required special attention after reportedly receiving no aid since the magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck four days earlier. Limited access remains one of the main challenges.
From the support post in Labuan Bajo, the BNPB team had to travel by car for 3.5 hours overland to reach the two villages near Mount Mbeliling in West Manggarai.
According to Muhari, the earthquake caused significant damage in the villages. The team’s assessment recorded 148 damaged houses, comprising 101 heavily damaged houses, 12 moderately damaged houses, and 35 lightly damaged houses, as well as one fatality.
In addition, 1,108 people were displaced in Coal Village, while more than 20 families were self-evacuating in Pangga Village.
Muhari acknowledged that the response operation underscored the challenges of delivering aid, as many residents had evacuated independently rather than moving to designated primary evacuation sites.
“Due to the trauma and the threat of aftershocks, many residents have set up tents around undamaged homes. But as long as these self-evacuated residents remain there, we will ensure that their food and other basic needs are met,” he said.
Earlier, the agency also assured earthquake victims whose homes were damaged that they would receive assistance.
“We will help repair houses that suffered light and moderate damage. For severely damaged homes, the solution is permanent housing,” BNPB Head Suharyanto said on Wednesday (August 19).
BNPB will provide housing repair assistance based on the extent of damage, offering Rp15 million (around US$842) for lightly damaged homes and Rp30 million for moderately damaged homes.
For severely damaged houses, meanwhile, the government will fund the construction of permanent housing.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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