Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia stepped up disaster response to Saturday’s magnitude 7.7 earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara that had killed at least 54 people, as the country marked its 81st Independence Day on Monday.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno assured residents of maximum emergency measures during an Independence Day ceremony in Manggarai district, East Nusa Tenggara.
He said senior officials had traveled to the province immediately after the quake to help affected communities across Flores Island.
“We have been in East Nusa Tenggara since day one to assess the situation and discuss speeding up recovery efforts,” Pratikno said.
Authorities have established teams to oversee relief distribution to areas most in need, including Reo in Manggarai District and Palue in Sikka District, he said.
Pratikno said ministries, government agencies and the House of Representatives were coordinating closely to ensure an effective response.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Chief Suharyanto said authorities had consolidated relief supplies at a logistics post at Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base before sending them to affected areas.
The supplies included 50,000 aid packages provided by President Prabowo Subianto and were sent to hubs in Labuan Bajo and Maumere.
The hubs will distribute assistance to West Manggarai, Manggarai, East Manggarai, Sikka, Ende and Nagekeo Districts, Suharyanto said.
To overcome difficult terrain, the disaster agency and other institutions had prepared land, sea and air transportation, he said.
Six aircraft were stationed in Labuan Bajo and five in Maumere, supported by helicopters, heavy trucks and ferries to expand aid distribution.
Regional governments were also instructed to conduct rapid assessments of the earthquake’s impact to enable immediate assistance, Suharyanto said.
“Collecting data on homes with mild, moderate and severe damage is our top priority,” he said, adding that residents’ immediate needs came before assessing damage to government facilities.
Suharyanto confirmed that the earthquake had killed at least 54 people, while search operations and assessments of its impact were continuing.
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Translator: Sean Filo, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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