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Quake death toll nears 5 000
29/05/2006 07:47 - (SA)
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| A woman ponders the devastation near the ruins of her home flattened by an earthquake in Bambanglipuro near Yogyakarta. (Dita Alangkara, AP) |
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Bantul - A UN plane loaded with tents and emergency gear landed near the quake zone on Indonesia's Java island on Monday as survivors cleared debris or stood on roads lined with crumpled buildings pleading for money to buy food.
The death toll from Saturday's 6.3-magnitude quake neared 5 000, with an estimated 200 000 displaced, most of whom are now living in shacks close to their former homes or in shelters put up in rice fields.
Hospitals near the scene of Indonesia's devastating earthquake are becoming flooded with human waste as they buckle under the strain of thousands of victims, a UN agency said on Monday.
Hospitals overflowed with survivors and John Budd, spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) in Yogyakarta province, said the situation was critical, with hospitals handling five times their normal patient load.
'Human waste everywhere'
"Waste management in the hospitals is now critical. There is human waste everywhere. The situation is quite serious," said Budd. There was also a huge need for doctors, nurses and medical supplies.
"All our valuables are gone," said Hardadi, as she cooked breakfast for three families living under a shelter made from fertilizer sacks. "But at least we managed to get the children out alive."
The aid plane, chartered by the UN's child agency, arrived in the city of Solo, around three hours from the hardest-hit district of Bantul. It was loaded with large bags to hold water, tents, stoves and cooking sets that officials said would be distributed later on Monday.
On Sunday, three UN trucks brought high-energy biscuits to some of the worst-hit districts and two Singapore military cargo planes arrived at Yogyakarta airport with doctors and medical supplies.
"We need help. Anything at all," one sign read.
Saturday's quake was the fourth destructive temblor to hit Indonesia in the last 17 months, including the monster that spawned the December 26 2004, Asian tsunami that killed 230 000 people, most of them in Indonesia.
Rain makes matters worse
Many survivors worked together to clear the rubble and salvage building materials to build temporary shelters and health centres.
Electricity and water supplies are still down in much of the region, while torrential rain that has fallen at least twice since the disaster has added to misery facing survivors.
The death toll stood at 4 983 on Monday, according to the Social Ministry, though officials in the affected areas put the estimate at 4 380. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy, a common occurrence during a major disaster.
Countries across Asia and the world have pledged millions of dollars, tons of supplies and hundreds of personnel - and Indonesia said late on Sunday it would allocate $107m to help rebuild over the next year.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire,". - AP/AFP
- News24
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