Today, we have zero refugees at evacuation centers, yet officers of the region's Social Office and Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) continue to ready evacuation tentsAgam, West Sumatra (ANTARA) - Some 1,139 quake victims from Malampah Village in Pasaman District seeking refuge in Salareh Aia Village, Agam District, after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday (Feb 25) have returned home, a regional government official stated.
Agam District's Social Office secretary, Jatirman, remarked that evacuees began leaving evacuation centers from Wednesday (Mar 2) morning, and all the evacuees had left the center by evening.
"Today, we have zero refugees at evacuation centers, yet officers of the region's Social Office and Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) continue to ready evacuation tents," Jatirman stated in Lubukbasung, Agam District, West Sumatra, on Thursday.
The secretary remarked that each family leaving the evacuation center had received a package of basic needs and a tent that they can build in front of their homes.
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"All (basic needs) assistance that we collected have been received by earthquake victims seeking refuge in Salareh Aia Village," he noted.
Most evacuees decided to leave the evacuation center and go home, as they need to tend to their farm and livestock that were left unattended for six days while they were evacuating after the quake, he remarked.
"They also seeking permission to return to the evacuation center in this district if earthquakes again become active in their region," Jatirman remarked.
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The secretary noted that quake victims seeking refuge in Salareh Aia Village were initially recorded at 700 on Friday, with the figure increasing to 839 people on Saturday (Feb 26) and then peaking to 1,139 people on Sunday (Feb 27).
As some residents began to return home, the number of evacuees as of Monday (Feb 28) has decreased to 1,009 people and further to 850 people on Tuesday (Mar 1). As of Wednesday, the authority recorded that 450 refugees were remaining at the evacuation center in the village, he added.
"We have also set up a public kitchen at the evacuation center, and a total of 12.6 thousand food packages have been cooked for evacuees and volunteers from February 25 to March 2," Jatirman stated.
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Translator: Atlas Maulana, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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