Search for Victims Temporarily Suspended

KOMPAS/VIDELIS JEMALI

Heavy equipment is being operated to clean up debris or the ruins of a house that collapsed due to the earthquake in Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi, Tuesday (19/1/2021). The search for the dead in the rubble has been temporarily stopped while waiting for reports from the public.

MAMUJU, KOMPAS — The search for three earthquake victims in West Sulawesi who have gone missing in landslides has been temporarily suspended due to the difficult location and the risks for the rescue team. However, the team remains alert for developments in the field.

The head of the Mamuju office of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Saidar, said the three missing people were believed to have been buried by landslides on a road in Mekata village, Malunda district, Majene. The area has been cut off from the outside by landslides triggered by a recent earthquake.

Another humanitarian consideration is the safety of the search team due to the dangerous conditions.

"The pile of rubble measures 50 meters, so the search was temporarily suspended. Another humanitarian consideration is the safety of the search team due to the dangerous conditions," Saidar said on Thursday (21/1/2021).

The three victims were members of one family. Together with other residents, they had the chance to evacuate. However, the three of them returned to their home. Then the landslide occurred and buried them.

Also read: Bringing Hope in Humanity to Majene

While the search has been temporarily suspended, the team continues to monitor developments in the field. The SAR team is still on standby for evacuations should there be reports on further victims.

KOMPAS/RENY SRI AYU

Residents cross a road covered with landslide material in Kabiraan Village, Ulumanda, Majene, West Sulawesi, Wednesday (20/1/2021). After the earthquake on Friday (15/1/2021), Kabiraan was isolated because the only road access was covered by landslides.

No ongoing evacuation or search activities were observed near the destroyed houses or buildings, with the joint SAR team no longer seen at the location. At a number of points, there were only excavators operated to clean up debris or landslide materials. Such activities were also carried out at the office of the West Sulawesi Governor, which also collapsed due to the earthquake.

According to the Basarnas Mamuju office, the 6.2 magnitude earthquake killed 91 people. Up to 80 of the victims were residents of Mamuju and the 11 others were residents of Majene. The two areas were the worst-affected areas by the earthquake, which took place on Friday (15/1).

Gradual return to normal conditions

As of yesterday, conditions in Mamuju were gradually getting back to normal. Traders have started to conduct activities, such as at Lama Market and Baru Market in Mamuju. Roadside stalls have also reopened.

Some of the survivors are still accommodated at the Manakarra Stadium and on the sides of the road between Mamuju and Palu, Central Sulawesi. Others have decided to return to their homes, especially those whose houses were not damaged. They do not sleep indoors but on the terraces of their homes in anticipation of aftershocks.

Also read: Palu Returns the Favor

"I can\'t stand being at the evacuation post. I decided to return home, especially since the electricity has already been restored,” said Edi (52), a resident of Karema village, Simboro district, Mamuju.

State electricity company PT PLN said in a press statement that it had repaired 851 of 872 damaged electrical substations in Mamuju and Mejene. About 83,000 customers could be served again.

Also read: Mamuju in Total Darkness

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

The silhouette of TNI AL members transfers natural disaster aid to KRI Oswald Siahaan, who will depart for Mamuju, West Sulawesi, at Armada II Pier, Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (21/1/2021).

Meanwhile, the roads to the areas of Ulumanda and Malunda, which had been cut off by piles of soil during the earthquake in Majene were still being repaired. Volunteers from various community groups continued to try to reach isolated areas and evacuation posts that have yet to receive any assistance.

In Mamuju, the aid distribution mechanism was changed. While the survivors previously picked up the aid packages at the evacuation posts, the assistance is now distributed through villages and subdistricts. The secretary of the Mamuju Social Affairs Office, Muzakkir, said the mechanism was updated to enable all survivors to get their rations. The direct distribution applied previously was unclear, as there was the possibility that survivors from one post got more rations than others.

Also read: Strengthening Unity in Facing Disasters

“Whether there are any who have not got their rations yet has yet to be clarified. However, we try to ensure that all get their rights met," he said.

Hopefully this assistance will help ease the burden on disaster survivors.

So far, aid for earthquake survivors in West Sulawesi has continued to flow in from a number of areas in Sulawesi, such as Central Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. One effort is assistance from Kompas daily readers through the Kompas Humanitarian Fund Foundation (DKK), which was sent from Makassar, South Sulawesi, to West Sulawesi, yesterday.

The assistance worth Rp 300 million consisted of basic food ingredients, needs for children and women, medicine, mineral water, toiletries and sleeping equipment, such as mattresses, mats and blankets. "Hopefully this assistance will help ease the burden on disaster survivors," said the representative of the DKK Foundation, Suyanto.

Meanwhile, a number of educators expressed hope that damaged and unsuitable school buildings could be repaired immediately. Two of them are state senior high school SMA 1 and state junior high school SMP 2 in Mamuju, which were heavily damaged.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.