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Thousands still homeless one year after earthquakes
The powerful earthquakes that rocked West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) last July and August laid waste to over 200,000 houses, many of which have yet to be repaired or rebuilt one year after the devastating incidents
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span>The powerful earthquakes that rocked West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) last July and August laid waste to over 200,000 houses, many of which have yet to be repaired or rebuilt one year after the devastating incidents.
Although the government has allocated over Rp 5 trillion (US$350.8 million) for initial home repairs and reconstruction, the rehabilitation process has shown little progress.
As of this month, a full year since the quakes jolted NTB, only 60,000 out of 222,564 houses have been repaired and rebuilt, with 99,000 still in progress.
The languid pace of the reconstruction process has made over 240,000 people who lost their homes to the earthquake practically homeless, as they have no other choice but to stay in temporary shelters indefinitely.
“It has been a year. We’ve stayed in a temporary shelter because we have yet to receive support,” said Lukman, a 45-year-old resident of Sembalun Lawang village, Sembalun district in East Lombok regency who lost his home to a 6.4-magnitude quake that jolted the region on July 29.
The temporary shelter where Lukman, his wife and three children currently live is made from various scraps and debris from their old home, with a wide sheet of tarp acting as a roof that protects them from the elements.
Amaq Pandiana, a 52-year-old resident of neighboring Sembalun Timba Gading village, whose home was also damaged during the quake, has to share a tent with his entire extended family.
Neither Lukman nor Amaq have received funds from the government for home repairs and reconstruction.
Amaq said he had yet to be issued a bank account for reconstruction funds from the government.
“I’ve asked the village administration, but they haven’t responded. We can only hope for the best,” he said.
Sembalun and Sambelia are the two districts in Lombok that suffered the worst damage due to the quake that struck the region last July.
It was in these districts that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo first promised the victims financial compensation of Rp 50 million per family last year.
According to data from the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) in NTB, the two consecutive earthquakes that jolted Lombok and neighboring Sumbawa last year damaged 222,564 houses across seven cities and regencies.
The data also show that 72,138 houses sustained heavy damage, while the rest suffered medium to minor damage.
Some local residents have chosen to repair and rebuild their homes themselves. However, the region’s poor have no choice but to await assistance from the government.
BPBD head in NTB, Ahsanul Khalik, said around 40,000 houses had been repaired by local residents themselves without financial aid from the government.
“[These houses] are anomalies in the data,” Ahsanul said. “There are probably around 40,000 anomalies across seven cities and regencies.” (rfa)
