"Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara has assigned the Telecommunication Acccessibility and Informatics (BAKTI) to provide the satellite phones," the ministry`s spokesman, Ferdinandus Setu, said here on early Saturday.
The satellite phones were used for enabling those involving in the disaster relief operations in Donggala District areas to coordinate one another amid disrupted telecommunication networks following the strong earthquake, he said.
As of early Saturday, the telecommunication networks around Donggala District remained disrupted due to the absence of electricity supplies after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked certain parts of Central Sulawesi Province on Friday, he said.
"Until 06.00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), the Directorate General of Post and Informatics Management of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics reveals that 276 base stations do not operate," Ferdinandus Setu said in a statent made available to Antara.
The telecommunication operators, however, had attempted to resume the electricity supplies by using mobile backup power (MBP) while waiting for the resumption of the PLN`s electricity supplies, he said.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto also revealed earlier that the communication networks in the disaster zones were still disrupted. Due to this condition, the government could not yet determine the number of casualties.
"For the time being, we are providing satellite phones because the communication systems in the disaster zones still get failed, and we are attempting to fix the cellular networks there," he said.
Certain parts of Central Sulawesi, especially the areas of Donggala District and Palu, the province`s capital city, were rocked by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Friday afternoon.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake. The tremors of the strong earthquake were also felt by those living in Mamuju District, around 237 km away from Donggala District.
In response to this catastrophe, President Joko Widodo has expressed his condolences to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
Reporting by Sigit Pinardi
Editing by Rahmad Nasution, Eliswan Azly
Reporter: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
