For local residents, whose family members are still missing and may be among the victims being buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the magnitude-6.4 and 7.0 earthquakes that shook their villages and towns have likely traumatized them.
The strong-intensity quake, which rocked Lombok Island on Sunday evening, has reportedly killed at least 347 people and injured 236 people. It has also damaged thousands of houses and forced tens of thousands of local residents to take refuge.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that the death toll is forecast to rise, as several people still remain buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Among the victims that are likely to remain buried under the rubble are those who performed the Isha prayer at a congregation in a mosque in Lading-Lading Village, Tanjung Sub-district, North Lombok District, on the day of the disaster.
The evacuation process at the ill-fated mosque continued to find several people, who might have been buried under the rubble of its roof destroyed by the strong quake.
In helping the rescue workers, an excavator had been deployed to facilitate the search for the victims. As of Tuesday, two victims were found dead and another was found alive, the BNPB`s spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho remarked.
He was yet to know the exact number of participants at the Isha prayer at the mosque, but, according to the local residents, two or three rows of people were offering the Ihsa prayer when the quake shook the village, he added.
In response to the impacts of this deadly disaster, President Joko Widodo had instructed his concerned ministers, particularly Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto and other stakeholders, to immediately address them.
The immediate response includes the evacuation of injured and dead victims and dispatch of relief aid.
Amid this catastrophic condition, a strong feeling of solidarity for the Lombok quake victims has been growing in the hearts of millions of Indonesians as can be observed from the solidarity campaigns that various components in society have conducted in different parts of the country over the past several days.
The country`s leading daily newspaper, Kompas, for instance, has even initiated a fundraising by encouraging its readers to donate their money through the bank account of its humanitarian fund foundation "BCA Cabang Gajah Mada 012.302143.3.
As of August 7, the total amount of money that the daily newspaper`s foundation has received from the donators has reached Rp6.6 million. Kompas transparently announced the amount of donated funds and names of donators on its front page.
The solidarity campaigns were also organized by organizations and companies. On Wednesday, a group of the Indonesian Mosque Lovers Front (FPMI) activists in East Lampung District, Lampung Province, raised funds from the road users passing by the east coast of Trans-Sumatran highway.
"We call on the road users to donate their small sum of money for helping our brothers and sisters in Lombok Island currently suffering from the impacts of Sunday`s strong earthquake," FPMI Chief Yusprian Andri explained.
The fundraising was his organization`s way to show its members` solidarity for those badly affected by the strong quake.
The FPMI representatives would distribute the donations they have collected from both road users and people at large, who transferred their money to their organization`s bank account, to the needy in West Nusa Tenggara Province, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy for Infrastructure and Business Affairs of the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry Hambra Samal noted that a total of 24 state-owned companies participated in a joint solidarity campaign and, as of August 1, 2018, had successfully collected a total fund of Rp2.1 billion.
Several state-owned transportation operators, including national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, participated in this solidarity campaign by transporting humanitarian workers and aid packages to the disaster zones.
The state-owned shipping operator PT Pelni sent its motor vessel, KM Egon, to transport the humanitarian aid packages from the East Java city of Surabaya to Lombok Island for free.
Samal noted that the shipping operator also dispatched its two ships, KM Binaiya and KM Tilongkabila, to assist the evacuation efforts in Gili Terawangan Island to Benoa in Bali Island.
At the same time, Garuda Indonesia provided three extra flights for Lombok-Denpasar route for Indonesian and foreign nationals wanting to leave Lombok Island. For the parties wanting to transport humanitarian aid cargo, the Garuda management gave them discount of 50 percent of normal tariffs, he elaborated.
"This is an evidence of the state-owned enterprises` strong commitment to implement its social corporate responsibility for community members, particularly those suffering from the catastrophe in Lombok," he noted.
Local journalists belonging to the "Pen Care Community" in the West Java city of Cirebon also showed their solidarity for the Lombok quake victims by launching a charity campaign on Tuesday to help the survivors of the earthquake.
"We are raising funds for the earthquake victims. The public donations will be distributed to the survivors through a credible organization," Coordinator of the charity campaign, Faizal Nuratman, stressed.
The funds, donated by both local journalists and people, would totally be distributed to those affected by Lombok Island`s earthquake. "Lombok is an integrated part of Indonesia. Therefore, I call on you all to help the victims," Nuratman remarked.
(T.R013/INE)
EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.R013/B/KR-BSR/A/H-YH) 08-08-2018 22:58:21
Reporter: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
