"Well, we are open to receive aid, because people there, indeed, need it. However, we are still able to overcome reconstruction of houses that have been damaged," he said at a cabinet meeting here on Friday.
He said the government would conduct the rehabilitation and reconstruction of buildings that have been destroyed after the emergency period is over.
He has called upon his staff to continuously prepare the latest reports on the situation in Lombok.
President Joko Widodo earlier expressed his intention to visit the region to inspect the situation, but "because aftershocks are still occurring, I have been advised to go there on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday."
Security was the main factor behind the cancellation of his visit to the region. "We still have yet to monitor the developments, as there have been aftershocks almost everyday. Yesterday, a 6.2 magnitude quake happened, following a magnitude 6.5", he said.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has recorded 451 aftershocks, as of 08.00 a.m. on Friday, after a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Lombok on August 5.
Of the total, 20 aftershocks could be felt by local residents, the agency noted in a statement released on Friday.
Another powerful earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale, jolted the island on Thursday at 01.25 p.m. local time.
The quake was centered 33 kilometers northwest of Central Lombok district at a depth of 12 kilometers. It did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, the BMKG said.
Earlier, BMKG chief Dwikorita Karnawati said aftershocks of lower intensity are likely to continue to hit the island for the next four weeks, after two powerful earthquakes, with a magnitude of 6.4 and 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit the island on July 29 and August 5.
"In the next three to four weeks small earthquakes will still occur. We have to accept them, as they are part of the natural process," she said.
Reported by Hanni Sofia
Edited by Yoseph Haryadi, Andi Abdussalam
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
