Yogyakarta, Indonesia - Aid is trickling in for survivors of an earthquake that killed more than 5 000 people on Indonesia's Java island, but tens of thousands of homeless are still foraging on their own for food and shelter.
Many survivors who were injured or whose homes were destroyed by the quake spent a rainy second night in the open on the grounds of hospitals and mosques or in makeshift shelters beside the rubble of their houses.
The 6.3 magnitude quake's official death toll reached 5 136 on Monday, according to the Social Affairs Department, although the governors of the two affected provinces, Central Java and Yogyakarta, put the figure at a lower 4 395.
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The tremor early on Saturday was centred just off the Indian Ocean coast near Yogyakarta, the former Javanese royal capital.
Government figures put the number of injured at 2 155, but the United Nations Children's Fund said there were 20 000 injured and more than 130 000 homeless, of which 40 percent were children.
Hospital lists of the dead also showed children and old people, who had a harder time scrambling from houses as they collapsed, as disproportionately represented among the victims.
Those who survived were, meanwhile, struggling to get by.
In the hard-hit Bantul area of the island, Sutrisno, carrying his 13-month-old son, said his village had been reduced to rubble. He has been living in a tent since Saturday.
"Food is still hard to get, aid is still lacking … I don't know when help will come," he said.
Suripto, from the same village, said: "I don't know why help has been slow to reach the poor people."
Many who lost their homes lack tents, and government and aid agencies say shelter is a top aid priority, along with clean water.
The UN will ship three 100-bed field hospitals, tents, medical supplies and generators in the next few days.
"These are the most pressing needs," said a spokesperson for UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs Jan Egeland.
Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla announced yesterday that survivors would be given 200 000 rupiah (about R130) each for clothes and household items, while families would get 12kg of rice. People will also be compensated for damaged homes.
Yogyakarta's provincial secretary, Bambang Susanto Priyohadi, said the pace of aid needed to be stepped up.
"The aid has come since last night from the UN. But when I checked this morning, the amount is very minimal," he said. "For such a large number of victims, we at least need 5 000 tents."
Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said doctors and medicines were being sent to affected areas to prevent outbreaks of disease. - Reuters
- This article was originally published on page 4 of The Star on May 30, 2006
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