Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram
Three people are feared dead, while scores more are injured and hundreds of buildings destroyed or badly damaged in various districts in Bima and Dompu regencies, West Nusa Tenggara, after powerful earthquakes hit the area Monday.
Data at the Mataram Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) showed the 6.8 magnitude quake occurred at 2:53 a.m. local time on Nov. 26, 48 km northwest of Bima capital Raba, at a depth of 45 km, and could possibly trigger a tsunami.
A 5-magnitude aftershock struck again at 4:44 a.m., 93 km northwest of Raba at a depth of 20 km, and did not pose a potential a tsunami risk.
At a press conference on Monday evening, West Nusa Tenggara governor HL Serinata said that there were only two casualties.
"Not three as reported by several media outlets," he said.
The fatalities were identified as a two-year-old boy Alia Rizki and one-and-a-half-year-old girl Misna. Both were residents of Dompu regency.
Earlier in the day, Dompu regent Syaifurrahman Salman stated that there were three fatalities in his regency, with the third being an unidentified adult male.
Contacted via cell phone, Bima regency administration spokesman Abdul Wahab said damage occurred in 18 districts in the regency, with Sanggar district the worst hit.
"There are around 200 homes in one village that were totally destroyed. The disaster response task force and I are in the area to deliver relief aid, such as tents and food," said Wahab.
According Wahab, Bima Regent Ferry Zulkarnaen is also with the team to provide fresh blankets and instant food.
Wahab said minor aftershocks could still be felt at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., causing public anxiety, while public services in Bima ground to a halt from Monday morning.
In Sanggar district, added Wahab, at least 10 people were injured after being hit by falling debris. They are still being treated at the Sanggar community health center. One of them suffered severe wounds and a broken leg.
Data gathered by the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency's task force indicated that tremors were also felt in Dompu regency, which borders Bima.
According to task force data division head Yoseph Miraja, data from the Dompu and Bima task forces indicates at least 50 people were injured in Dompu, 33 of whom are being treated at the Dompu district hospital and 12 at the Kilo community health clinic, while the rest are receiving outpatient treatment. Kilo district was the worst hit of the nine districts in Dompu.
He added that in Bima, there were at least 10 people reportedly injured.
"We're still updating the data due to the harsh terrain," he said.
A team from the provincial social welfare office and health office are expected to arrive soon at the disaster locations in Dompu and Bima, to provide tents, food and medicine.
Contacted via phone, Dompu Regent Syaifurahman Salman said Kilo district in Dompu received the main brunt of the quake. His office has deployed relief to the area in the form of tents, medicine and food.
Schools and state agencies were paralyzed on Monday, and a number of state facilities were damaged.