Indonesian disaster relief officials waited for word on Sunday that aid had finally reached an isolated island group hit hard by a series of quakes and aftershocks.
Three boats carrying relief aid set sail for ports in the Mentawai islands on Saturday off the west coast of Sumatra.
”They are likely to have arrived there as the trip would need between eight to 12 hours,” said Ade Edward, an official at the main disaster relief office in Padang, West Sumatra.
”But we have not yet received reports that they have safely reached their destinations.”
The Mentawai islands were among the areas worst hit by Wednesday’s massive 8,4-magnitude quake that killed 23 people there and in neighbouring Bengkulu province.
Rough seas had so far prevented aid reaching the islands.
Figures from a disaster coordination agency in Padang show more than 3 000 homes and other buildings on the islands were damaged by the quake, which was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.
The Mentawai district police station could not be reached for comment.
Edward said the aid included food, tents, mattresses, blankets, medicines and various other emergency relief. They could not be dropped by plane because they were not packaged securely enough, he added.
The initial massive quake has been followed by a series of big aftershocks, jolting the coastal provinces of Bengkulu and West Sumatra.
Geophysicists have warned that aftershocks may continue for two weeks.
In Bengkulu province, aid distribution is proceeding smoothly as there was little damage to roads, said a disaster relief official who identified himself only as Wahyu.
”We are continuing the distribution of relief aid although we also have a shortage of manpower,” Wahyu said.
The quake flattened nearly 2 000 homes in the province and caused varying degrees of damage to nearly 4,000 others, he said. — AFP
