TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi orders 'maximum relief effort' for earthquake victims
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo led a meeting on emergency efforts following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara upon landing in the province on Sunday afternoon.
Change Size
Earthquake survivors in Sembalun district in East Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara, perform their prayers in a field where tents have been erected to shelter them following a powerful earthquake that killed at least 14 on Sunday morning. (Antara/Ahmad Subaidi)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo led a meeting on emergency efforts following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara upon landing in the province on Sunday afternoon.
The meeting was held in Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin Airport in Sumbawa Island, immediately after the plane carrying the President and First Lady Iriana landed at the airport at 3 p.m.
After the meeting, Jokowi told journalist he had instructed officials from various institutions, including the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Social Affairs Ministry, Public Works and Housing Ministry and the Indonesian Military to work together to help people affected by the disaster.
“We hope [the emergency effort] can be organized this afternoon or tomorrow morning, so [authorities] from central, provincial and regency governments can move together,” the President said in a statement, adding that he would visit survivors on Monday morning.
In a separate statement, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) said it had readied 47 volunteers, two ambulances and six motorcycles to assist with victim evacuation. The PMI has also sent 250 hygiene kits and 250 blankets from its warehouse in Serang, Banten, as well as body bags and other equipment from Gresik, East Java.
As of Sunday afternoon, the earthquake was reported to have left 14 dead, 162 injured and thousands of homes damaged.
According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the 6.4- magnitude earthquake struck Lombok, Bali and Sumbawa on Sunday at 6:47 a.m. local time. By 1 p.m. the agency had recorded 104 aftershocks, with the largest measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. (evi)
