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Indonesia fully launches post-earthquake disaster relief

Published

2 months ago

November 28, 2022

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurred in West Java, Indonesia recently. The epicenter was located 10 kilometers southwest of Zhanyu District, West Java, Indonesia, with a focal depth of about 10 kilometers. According to data released by the Indonesian National Disaster Resilience Agency, as of November 27, the earthquake has caused 321 deaths and 7,729 injuries. More than 73,000 people have taken refuge in shelters, 11 people are still missing, and the number of houses damaged by the earthquake exceeds 5.8 Ten thousand, rescue work is still underway.

Because the disaster was a shallow earthquake, and the Zhanyu area is mountainous, located on an active geological plate, and the soil structure is loose, the earthquake caused great losses. Up to now, more than 170 aftershocks have occurred in the Zhanyu area. Experts warn that geological disasters such as landslides may also occur in the next few weeks. The local government has declared a 30-day state of emergency.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspected the disaster area on the 22nd and said that priority will be given to evacuating the affected people. He instructed relevant departments to provide cash assistance to people whose houses were damaged in the earthquake. According to the degree of damage to the house, the people will receive compensation of 10 million to 50 million Indonesian rupiah (1 yuan is about 2192 Indonesian rupiah). "More importantly, damaged houses must be rebuilt using earthquake-resistant building standards." Widodo said. Widodo inspected the disaster area again on the 24th, emphasizing that aid materials should be distributed to all affected areas.

Ridwan, the governor of West Java Province in Indonesia, said on the 24th that he will do his best to meet the living needs of every resident affected by the earthquake and arrange officials to supervise the distribution of relief materials. Ridwan said: "The provincial government of West Java has purchased necessities worth 2 billion rupiah, and the provincial government will also provide medical assistance to the victims. It is necessary to ensure that all relief materials can be delivered to the victims."

After the earthquake, multiple departments of the Indonesian government cooperated to take emergency action. The National Disaster Resilience Agency provided food and other emergency supplies worth 500 million rupiah to the disaster area, and allocated 1.5 billion rupiah as emergency funds. The National Disaster Resilience Agency also specially established a central command post, which is responsible for material distribution, data collection and coordination of search and rescue work. The Indonesian army and the National Police Headquarters have also successively sent personnel to the disaster area to participate in rescue and evacuation work, repair damaged infrastructure, and provide assistance for the construction of evacuation points in the disaster area; the Ministry of Public Works and Housing arranged excavators and dump trucks to clean up the mountain The earth, rocks, trees, etc. brought by the landslide reconnected the cut-off road sections; the Ministry of Social Affairs sent personnel to help build emergency tents, and set up public kitchens in the disaster area to distribute food to the victims; the Ministry of Health mobilized various medical institutions to send medical personnel to the disaster area and ambulances, and implemented an emergency management triage system. The slightly injured were treated in local hospitals, and those in need of further treatment were transferred to hospitals in Bandung, Bogor and other places. The Indonesian Ministry of Trade raised 2.5 billion rupiah in cash and food worth 500 million rupiah, and promised to take measures to stabilize prices in the disaster area.

Under the coordination of various departments, at present, multiple evacuation points have been established in the disaster area, equipped with public kitchen facilities, medical personnel and logistics support and other services. Indonesia's national power company also restored power to most of the affected areas. The Indonesian Red Cross Society has accelerated the distribution of aid materials to the Zhanyu area. The logistical services provided by the agency have covered almost all areas affected by the earthquake.

Suhar Yanto, head of the Indonesian National Disaster Resilience Agency, said on the 23rd that the next few days will focus on searching for survivors. He said that the search and rescue and evacuation of the people will be completed within the one-week emergency response period, and he urged relevant departments and agencies to work together to speed up the emergency response.

"People's Daily" (version 14, November 28, 2022)

(Editors in charge: Zhao Xinyue, Niu Yong)

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