VP Gibran assures equal aid for NTT quake victims

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1 hour ago

East Manggarai, NTT (ANTARA) – Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka assured East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) residents affected by last Saturday’s earthquake that relief supplies would continue reaching all victims, including those sheltering outside evacuation centers.

“I have ordered immediate aid distribution, especially for independent evacuees,” he said during a dialogue with residents at an evacuation center in Manggarai District on Friday.

Gibran assured residents that the government had prepared enough assistance for all quake victims, while government-run communal shelters remained open to those seeking refuge.

He also urged evacuees to encourage relatives and friends to move to evacuation centers for better access to essential supplies and services.

“Please tell people you know to come here, as we have food and medicine,” Gibran told residents.

He also highlighted ongoing assessments and data collection on homes damaged or destroyed by the magnitude 7.7 earthquake, asking displaced residents whether they had registered for housing assistance.

During the visit, he met residents in medical tents to ensure they were receiving adequate treatment.

“What is the problem? Sir, Madam, have you received meals?” he asked a patient and companion who had stayed at the shelter since the earthquake struck.

Gibran also inspected conditions at a local community health center during the visit.

The vice president arrived in NTT on Thursday, Aug. 20, to assess conditions and meet survivors, beginning with visits to shelters and hospitals in Sikka district.

He then visited Manggarai and East Manggarai Districts on Friday, reaffirming the government’s commitment to effective disaster response and rapid aid distribution.

State agencies have mounted relief operations since Aug. 15, deploying thousands of personnel and delivering hundreds of tons of essential supplies and equipment across quake-hit Flores Island.

The latest shipments included more than 34 tons of aid from the Indonesian Air Force and Jakarta’s provincial government. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) received the supplies Thursday for immediate distribution in NTT.