Cianjur, West Java (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has built emergency shelters for the victims of the Cianjur earthquake who have started returning to their homes 20 days after the disaster.

The shelters have been built near or in the residents' yards.

The deputy head of PMI Cianjur, Dr. Frida Laila Yahya, said that the construction of temporary shelters is part of PMI's efforts to reduce the number of residents living in evacuation posts. PMI is hoping that they can return to their usual activities while waiting for their houses to be rebuilt.

"We have built 14 emergency shelters spread across Ciherang village, Pacet sub-district; Cijedil village, Cugenang sub-district; and Sukawangi village, Warungkondang sub-district. Ciherang village had the most emergency shelters with 10 units," Yahya informed in Cianjur on Saturday.

PMI is targeting to build 150 temporary housing units in severely affected villages that have been excluded from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) or the Cianjur government relocation plans. Residents who wish to build temporary shelters can contact volunteers, the Cianjur PMI headquarters, or the PMI hotline center.

Yahya said she expects the target of building 150 temporary housing units in a number of affected villages to be achieved by the end of the year so that more units can be built next year to reach the total target of 300 units.

"We continue to provide services to earthquake victims who need temporary housing close to their original house, which will be built soon after receiving assistance from the government," she added.

PMI's temporary shelter construction coordinator, Ujang Cipta, said that one temporary housing unit takes one day to finish with the help of eight volunteers assisted by homeowners and local residents.

"We are targeting that in the last three weeks we will be able to complete the target of 150 units in nine villages in three sub-districts, which are mostly requests from residents. For the construction, we are involving local residents apart from homeowners and their families to finish quickly," he added.

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Translator: Ahmad Fikri, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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