GET TO KNOW! Indonesian Firefighters Receive Support

An earthquake of almost 7 in the Richter scale created a literal chaos in the group of islands that comprise Indonesia.

Sunday night’s 6.9 earthquake instilled panic between locals and tourists, as it took place a week after a previous earthquake left 17 dead in a heavily toured volcanic island, full of panoramic walking trails. “131 people are dead, 1,477 heavily wounded, and 156,000 now homeless,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, representative of the National Agency for Disaster Management.

Rescue teams, firefighters and local citizen protection groups continue removing debris with heavy machinery. Thousands of homes have been affected, and a shortage of medical professionals and basic-need products have been announced. 

“Evacuation efforts continue to intensify, but there are still issues regarding the ground,” said Sutopo. In the Minor Islands, there have been reports of lack of food, medicine and medical personnel, lamented governor Muhaman Zainul Majdi.

“Our human resources are limited. Medical support is needed to handle the effects of an earthquake of this magnitude, which was enormous, given the region it affected.”

“Almost 100% destroyed.”

“Some of the towns we visited are almost gone, all their houses sunk, the roads cracked and bridges fallen,” said Arifin Muhamad Hadi, speaking in the name of the local Red Cross.

Improvised shelters were erected on the sides of roads, or in rice paddies, though many farmers are hesitant to abandon their broken houses or cattle.

“It’s a typical earthquake survivor situation. The people want to remain close to their source of income, as they cannot go to improvised shelters.” Meanwhile, local authorities started organizing help drives for the affected people, but rescue teams have problems reaching certain areas due to the chaos the earthquake caused on the north and east of Lombok, in both the main and alternate roads.

Indonesia is an archipelago comprised of 17,000 islands, in the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, one of the world’s most earthquake-prone zones.