T

he government and civil society groups have began mulling plans to rebuild Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake earlier this month, to extend feelings of hope to survivors.

The death toll from the 7.0-magnitude earthquake has risen to 436, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). The agency also recorded at least Rp 5 trillion (US$342 million) in losses after the disaster left more than 67,000 houses, 468 schools, 20 office buildings and 15 mosques damaged. Over 350,000 people in three regencies and the capital city of Mataram were displaced and have taken refuge in temporary shelters ever since.

Rizal, a 34-year-old Islamic teacher, was among 500 Terengan villagers in North Lombok currently taking refuge at temporary shelters. He said the whole village was currently empty as most houses had collapsed or had been damaged. North Lombok regency was the hardest-hit area because of its close proximity with the epicenter of the earthquake.

“We don’t want to leave the shelter because we are still traumatized. Besides, we have nowhere to go,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

West Nusa Tenggara Governor M. Zainul Majdi has extended the emergency status in the province until Aug. 25.

During his visit to North Lombok on Monday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reiterated his promise to help survivors rebuild their houses. The government pledged to provide up to Rp 50 million per house, depending on the degree of the damage.

“[The government] will start distributing [the money] in the form of savings this week,” he told evacuees in Tanjung district, North Lombok, on Monday evening. The funds will be disbursed in stages, with the first 1,000 houses with the worst damage, as well as public facilities such as schools and health centers being priorities.

“The reconstruction process will be supervised by the governor and assisted by the Public Works and Housing Ministry,” he said, adding that the buildings would be quakeproof.

Meanwhile, the ministry is currently focusing on building proper sanitation systems and providing clean water for evacuees.

The ministry’s adviser overseeing integrated development, Achmad Gani Ghazali Akman, said the ministry had provided 400 water tanks and 14 water trucks to distribute clean water to different shelters. The ministry also planned to build makeshift health centers, mosques and schools at the Tanjung bus terminal.

“We have to build around 150 public facilities,” Gani said.

Meanwhile, civil society groups have also jumped on the bandwagon to contribute to the reconstruction plan.

Volunteers from the Bandung Institute of Technology’s mountaineering club (KMPA ITB) have arrived in Lombok and began with its plan to establish sanitation systems in several locations.

“The sanitation system will be unique depending on the characteristics of each location. We will first seek a source of water, install water containers and build the [pipeline] to connect it to the shelter. We will then build bathrooms and toilets along with septic tanks,” KMPA ITB volunteer Aris Priyandoko said on Tuesday, adding that the group had also consulted with local authorities.

Other volunteers have also began building semi-permanent houses for locals in Lombok.

Budi Laksono, a physician from Semarang, Central Java, and his team were currently helping with building quakeproof, semi-permanent houses in West Jugil village in North Lombok. Each house can be built in only six hours, costing around Rp 6 million.

“Based on previous earthquake experiences, survivors need simple houses for them to live with their families because staying at temporary shelters for a long time can further traumatize them,” he told the Post.

— Sita W. Dewi in Jakarta and Suherdjoko in Semarang contributed to the story