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Search for survivors halted after less than a week
Helping hands: Russian medical staff take an earthquake victim to a makeshift hospital in Labuk Alung, Pariaman, West Sumatra, on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Helping hands: Russian medical staff take an earthquake victim to a makeshift hospital in Labuk Alung, Pariaman, West Sumatra, on Monday. While local and international rescue teams have poured into the province, assistance has not yet reached the province’s remote areas. JP/J. Adiguna
Rescuers called off their search Monday for people trapped beneath the rubble of buildings that collapsed in last week's devastating earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, and are now focusing on distributing aid to survivors.
Officials and rescue workers said it was a “miracle” they had found anyone buried under the rubble at all more than five days after Wednesday's quake.
“Under international standards, the search for survivors must only go on for five days,” said Ade Edward, secretary of the provincial disaster mitigation task force.
“That's the limit at which people can survive without food and drink in a trapped position.”
He added the search would continue for more bodies until next week, and could be extended another week once cleanup operations begin.
The official government figure lists at least 608 people confirmed dead as of Monday afternoon, but the death toll from the 7.6-magnitude quake is expected to soar into the thousands once the bodies of the missing have been recovered.
Rescuers said they had been hampered in their efforts by heavy rains since Sunday night that triggered a landslide Monday and forced aid teams to stay put in Padang, the city hardest hit by the quake.
Helicopters are being used to airdrop aid and take the wounded to hospitals. Two helicopters have conducted six airdrops in isolated areas, delivering instant noodles, blankets, milk and dry food, AP reports.
With the stench of decomposing bodies now emanating from several collapsed buildings, preventing outbreaks of disease is becoming a growing concern.
Health officials have begun distributing vaccines and spraying disinfectant.
Lucky Tjahyono, from the Health Ministry's Crisis Center, said Monday his office had vaccinated 119 rescue volunteers and disinfected 320 locations across the worst-affected areas in Padang and Padang Pariaman regencies.
The ministry has so far prepared 3,000 doses of vaccines.
West Sumatra Health Agency head Rosnini Savitri said the decomposing bodies could threaten water supplies, raising the risk of a diarrhea outbreak.
With more rains predicted for the next few days, the risk of diseases is heightened, she added.
Volunteers working among collapsed buildings are also exposed to tetanus, Rosnini said.
In Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono criticized local administrations in the quake-ravaged areas of prioritizing the assessment of financial losses over emergency measures to help quake victims.
“When I ask for reports from governors, mayors or regents in the disaster-hit areas, I don’t want to hear about how much they need to rebuild, what buildings are damaged, or whatever just a day or two after the disaster,” he fumed when opening a Cabinet meeting.
“What I want to know is, what rescue and recovery measures are being taken? Report on the overall situation first — the damage, search for missing victims — then report to me on what recovery efforts you're making.”
