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Aid pours in for Sunda Strait tsunami victims
Survivors on an isolated islet have asked for help.
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An aerial view of tsunami-hit areas in Banten and South Lampung on Sunday. (Courtesy of /Susi Air)
G
overnment agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to send help to victims of a tsunami in Banten and Lampung, but some small islets near the volcano have yet to be reached.
The Health Ministry deployed a medical team to Pandeglang regency, Banten, on Sunday night and plans to send a second team on Monday.
"The team consists of doctors and nurses who also brought with them medicine and medical equipment," Health Ministry spokesperson Widyawati said in a statement on Monday.
She added that there were currently 4,561 evacuees in Pandeglang and there was a risk they might contract environmental-based diseases.
The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) sent 120 volunteers and six ambulances to Banten and 15 refugees to South Lampung regency to help with evacuating residents affected by the tsunami.
"The PMI team in the field is helping with evacuation efforts and providing first aid to injured residents," PMI emergency response head Ridwan Sobri Carman said in a statement on Sunday. "We are also assessing what the next response should be."
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has sent a medical team to Banten to help treat injured victims.
"We have constructed five posts in community health centers [Puskesmas] in the affected areas — Carita, Labuhan, Panimbang, Cibaliung and Sumur — for emergency medical treatment," IDI Banten head Hendrarto said on Sunday.
The IDI also said that it needed additional medical personnel, particularly orthopedic specialists, neurosurgeons, obstetrician-gynecologists and pediatricians, as well as additional medical supplies and ambulances.
Survivors on Sebesi Island off the coast of Lampung, however, said no workers had yet reached the area and asked for help.
According to Antara news agency, Sebesi Island village head Syamsiar said residents needed tents, food and other forms of aid as soon as possible.
Lampung Social Agency head Sumarju Saini said the agency had received aid from both the public and government institutions, including food, blankets and clothes, which would soon be distributed to areas around the Lampung coast.
About 5,000 evacuees who had taken shelter in the Lampung governor's office on Sunday have also returned to their homes.
"Only a few hundred are still [at the office] because their houses [are heavily damaged]," Sumarju said on Monday as quoted by Antara. (kmt/swd)
