An elderly woman became on Monday the latest victim of a powerful earthquake and aftershocks in eastern Indonesia, as a relief official appealed for tents to house thousands left homeless.
The latest death brings to 23 the number who have died since Friday when the pre-dawn quake measuring six on the Richter scale hit Alor island near East Timor.
A 70-year-old woman died when she was startled during aftershocks that continued on Monday, though in decreased intensity, said Alberth Ouwboly of the government relief centre in Alor’s main town of Kalabahi.
Meanwhile, a delegation of four Indonesian Cabinet ministers visited Alor to assess the situation.
Ouwboly said the ministers donated more than $100 000 for emergency aid before setting out for the hardest-hit district of North-East Alor by helicopter and boat. The quake severed road access to the district.
Ouwboly said at the weekend the entire population of North-East Alor, about 8 000 residents, is believed to have been left homeless by the quake, which destroyed every public and private building there.
”What we most need is tarpaulins or tents,” Ouwboly said on Monday. ”Right now we don’t have any left.”
Fewer than 500 tents have arrived since Friday’s disaster, leaving most victims of the quake sleeping without shelter, he said.
Tents are providing some accommodation and housing medical and cooking facilities, he said.
The Indonesian archipelago — located on the ”Pacific Rim of Fire”, which is noted for its volcanic and seismic activity — is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions.
In February, at least 28 people were killed when a succession of powerful earthquakes hit Papua province. — Sapa-AFP