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View all search resultsPray for Flores
As Flores reels from a devastating earthquake on the eve of Independence Day, the government’s swift aid cannot hide the urgent need to trade performative crisis management for real, life-saving disaster governance.
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Rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) work amid the rubble of a damaged building on Aug. 15 after an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara. A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Flores Island early on Aug. 15, killing at least two and sending thousands running in panic after authorities issued a tsunami warning. (AFP/Basarnas/handout)
O
ur hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), who have lost loved ones, sustained injuries or been displaced from their homes following the magnitude-7.7 earthquake on Aug. 15. The tragedy is all the more painful coming right on the eve of the 81st anniversary of independence celebrations.
By Tuesday, the disaster had claimed 69 lives, injured 331 people and forced more than 34,600 residents into temporary shelters. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reports that casualty counts and assessments of damaged homes and public infrastructure remain underway.
The central government moved quickly, dispatching emergency relief and earmarking Rp 5 trillion in response funds through the BNPB. The agency has asked the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) to spearhead search-and-rescue operations on the ground, backed by the military, police, and local volunteers.
The BNPB is also pushing to bring essential lifelines—the power grid, clean water, fuel supplies and mobile networks—back to basic operational status within a week. That timeline aligns with the provincial administration’s two-week state of emergency declared across the six hardest-hit regencies: Manggarai, East Manggarai, Ngada, Ende, Nagekeo and Sikka.
To coordinate the emergency response on the ground, President Prabowo Subianto sent a high-level delegation to Flores, including Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Home Minister Tito Karnavian, Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus and Deputy Social Affairs Minister Agus Jabo Priyono. All skipped Monday’s 81st Independence Day flag-raising ceremony at Merdeka Palace to be in the disaster zone to make sure those affected by the quake are handled with care.
This swift mobilization stands in stark contrast to the sluggish, tone-deaf handling of the devastating floods and landslides across three Sumatran provinces last November. At the time, Jakarta resisted declaring a national emergency despite local authorities reaching their breaking point and heavy pressure at home and abroad—a hesitation widely attributed to tight fiscal room.
While the administration deserves credit for a prompt deployment that likely saved lives in NTT, the festive mass dance held at Merdeka Palace shortly after the official ceremony struck a jarring note. The revelry broadcast an unsettling indifference from Jakarta while thousands in the East were grieving under the rubble.
