CIANJUR, INDONESIA: Indonesian earthquake survivors have appealed for food and water.
Authorities and rescuers carried out work through devastated villages where 268 people were killed after a powerful quake struck Cianjur in West Java.
The calls for supplies came as authorities struggled to clear the debris in Cianjur in West Java, where heavy rains have been forecast in the coming weeks, which could further complicate the situation.
Just two days after the quake flattened their homes, residents were still trying to retrieve belongings. A 23-year-old resident of Gasol village Mustafa said that although some supplies had arrived, it was not enough. They said that they got rice, instant noodles and mineral water but it was not enough.
He told AFP that he had just rummaged through the rubble of an elderly woman’s house at her request, after appearing from the destroyed building carrying a pile of clothes before returning to collect rice, a gas stove, canisters and frying pans.
He said that they have no clothes and he was digging through the rubble to find some clothes.”
On the other hand, the Indonesian government said that tents and other supplies had been dispatched to Cianjur as another resident appealed to the government to send more stocks because of shortages in the area.
“My child has a fever and she cannot eat. There are many children and elderly people, who are without food. Children here need milk, diapers, food and medicine,” said 30-year-old Yunisa Yuliani.
It should be remembered that Indonesia is highly vulnerable to landslides and flash floods during the rainy season, which has already begun and peaks in December in West Java. Heavy thunderstorms are forecast for Cianjur in the weeks ahead. APP/AFP
