Evacuated Survivors Face Uncertainty After Deadly Earthquake in Indonesia
By Luffy Li/John Van Trieste
Thousands of evacuated survivors are unsure of what will happen next following the deadly earthquake that struck Indonesia's eastern island of Flores early on Saturday. The area has continued to be rocked by aftershocks and many have been left with shortages of aid.
Earthquake Evacuees in Indonesia Face Ongoing Hardship
REPORTER:
Traumatized and displaced, earthquake evacuees in Maumere, Indonesia line up for hot drinks, readying themselves for another night sleeping in tents.
REPORTER:
These are among the roughly 5,000 evacuees across this eastern part of the country driven from their homes by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit early Saturday. More than 50 people have died. Here among the survivors, many speak of near brushes with death.
BITE:
My husband couldn't walk anymore. He was very frail and weak. He told me, 'You run. I'll stay here. It's okay. If God wills that we die, then I accept that. If we live, I accept that too.'
REPORTER:
Indonesia's government says it is sending aid both by air and by sea, trying to get it where it’s needed as fast as possible. But for now, some evacuees say the disaster zone is low on essentials.
BITE:
My husband in the morning took Rohini's baby and went to the store, and he got us three loaves of bread. One loaf of bread, I felt so sorry for my nieces and nephews, had to be divided, little by little. She's pregnant. I feel so sorry for her, so I only ate a small amount. Even a single banana would be divided among three people. We were desperately hungry.
REPORTER:
There’s also the matter of medical care and not just for the injured. On the island of Flores, Ruteng Regional Hospital is so badly damaged that many patients are now staying in makeshift shelters. There is adequate medicine for now, though the pharmacy building has collapsed. But with the damage, once routine procedures now present an extra element of risk.
BITE:
When the earthquake struck yesterday, we happened to have a patient who urgently needed a caesarean section. So, we used a room that was still considered safe as a temporary operating theater.
REPORTER:
Even as rescuers continue to search the rubble, other dangers remain. Hundreds of aftershocks have continued to rattle affected areas. Now, many who still have homes are afraid to return.
BITE:
Seeing the damage makes us afraid. Now, whenever we go inside the house, we are filled with anxiety because the structure is already cracked and damaged throughout. We are afraid to go inside, so for the time being, we are still staying outside.
REPORTER:
And so, for weary evacuees, the disaster isn’t over. As families settle into another day of uncertainty, they leave a final tally of the destruction for a later time.
