Indonesia: Death toll in Lombok quake crosses 380
The death toll in an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok rose to 387, authorities said, adding hundreds of thousands of displaced people were still short of clean water, food and medicine after series of quakes hit Indonesia. The 6.9-magnitude quake on Sunday leveled tens of thousands of homes and mosques across Lombok, a week after another tremor surged through Lombok, killing 17.
Death toll likely to grow: National Disaster agency spokesman
"It's predicted the death toll will continue to grow because there are still victims who are suspected of being buried by landslides, and there are victims that have not been recorded and reported to posts," National Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Around 13,000 people have been injured in the quakes
The number forced from their homes in the disaster has soared to 387,000, Nugroho said, with around 13,000 injured. The hardest hit region of Lombok has been the north, where 334 people have died and nearly 200,000 have been forced from their homes, according to the latest official tolls. Two people were also killed by the quake on the neighboring tourist island of Bali.
Emergency response period extended to 14 days
Nugroho said the emergency response period has been extended another 14 days, which would allow authorities to deal with the many problems that still existed in the field. Most of the displaced are sleeping under tents or tarpaulins near their ruined homes or in evacuation shelters, while makeshift medical facilities have been set up to treat the injured.
Assistance has still not reached to some evacuees
Six days after the quake some evacuees have still not received assistance, particularly in the mountainous north of the island. "The main problem is the distribution of supplies to thousands of refugee points," Nugroho said. Survivors of the quake have been shaken by hundreds of aftershocks, including a shallow 5.9-magnitude quake on Thursday which caused people to flee evacuation shelters crying and screaming.
