North Lore district head Yanson Tokare said half of the assistance from the Poso Social Affairs Agency had been handed over to administration offices of villages hit by the quake on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, landslides that cut off access to a road at Padeha Pass, Sedoa village, North Lore, had halted the distribution of humanitarian aid dispatched from the BPBD on Tuesday evening.

“It is hoped the aid will have arrived in Wuasa, the capital of North Lore district, today [Wednesday],” said Yanson.

(Read also: BPBD calculates losses, damage caused by Poso earthquake)

Contacted separately, Wuasa village head Joni Pogoa confirmed humanitarian aid from the social affairs agency had arrived. 

He said the aid would be immediately distributed to Wuasa residents impacted by the quake, although it was still far from sufficient. “We will distribute what we have now to the people. Once we receive more aid, we will immediately hand it out,” said Joni.

He said assistance from the social affairs agency comprised household equipment, one box of canned fish, 10 blankets and 10 tarps. He hoped local authorities could provide subsidized rice for the poor (raskin), which was essential for quake victims in Wuasa.

Wuasa was one of four North Lore villages, including Alitupi, Sedoa and Watumaeta, hit by a 6.6 Ritcher scale earthquake on Monday evening. (ebf)

Damaged: A local passes in front of a school building in North Lore district, Poso, Central Sulawesi, that partially collapsed after a 6.6 Ritcher scale earthquake rocked the regency on May 29. (JP/Ruslan Sangadji)