More Evacuees, Not Enough Tents

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

Evacuation conditions for earthquake victims in Ciputri Village, Pacet District, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Sunday (11/27/2022).

CIANJUR, KOMPAS – Almost a week after the 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Cianjur, West Java, the number of displaced survivors is still increasing. However, there are not enough tents to accommodate them. The government has promised to find a solution.

As of Sunday evening (27/11/2022), the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded 325 emergency shelters across 15 subdistricts. More specifically, there are 183 centralized shelters that accommodate more than 25 people each and 142 individual shelters. On Friday (25/11), the fourth day after the earthquake, 110 additional shelters were set up.

As of Sunday night, there are 73,874 evacuees, 4,240 of whom are elderly. A total of 1,207 pregnant women were also displaced by the 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday (11/21).

“To this day, there are still many areas that need many resources. Tents, both large and small, measuring 4-by-6 meters or 3-by-4 meters, are still needed,” said BNPB head Suharyanto.

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It is still uncertain exactly how many tents are needed, but the BNPB will accept any amount. Moreover, not all tents that residents have set up are suitable for use as an evacuation shelter.

The BNPB noted that a total of 62,628 houses were damaged by the earthquake, with 27,434 houses suffering severe damage, 13,070 houses with moderate damage and 22,124 houses with mild damaged.

The BNPB is coordinating with Cianjur Regent Herman Suherman, and the local administration will provide thousands of tents for individual evacuees near their homes. Residents also need tents to stay overnight while clearing the wreckage of their homes.

“These evacuations will take not just a week or two. It will take longer because of the heavy damage. We are simultaneously recording the damage to houses and coordinating relocation efforts. The PUPR [Public Works and Housing] Ministry will finalize the land. Hopefully, this can be carried out in the next few weeks,” he said.

Apart from providing refuge, the shelters also receive aid.

From monitoring at the disaster site, earthquake survivors are still dependent on evacuation shelters a week since the earthquake. Apart from providing refuge, the shelters also receive aid.

Emergency tents are also seen along the Cipanas-Cianjur highway in Ciputri village, Pacet subdistrict. Each tent houses not just one or two families. Several large tents measuring around 100 square meters can accommodate 10 to 15 families.

Aem Muhaimin (41), a resident of community unit (RW) 001 in Ciputri village, expressed gratitude for being able to stay at the evacuation shelter, because it was easier to receive aid there. Previously, the day after the earthquake occurred, his and dozens of other families who lived near vegetable farms had built makeshift shelters on farmland.

“After the incident on Monday night, I took refuge here. The emergency tents in the farms were made out of plastic. Once there was help, we moved here,” said Aem.

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

Mobile clean water assistance at the earthquake refugee post in Cianjur Regency, West Java, Sunday (11/27/2022).

Taking shelter on the roadside is indeed strategic. Aid continues to arrive every day from volunteers or residents bringing aid via the Cipanas-Cianjur road. The aid is in the form of food, drinking water, clothes, bedding and medicine, all items that evacuees need.

Evacuation shelters have become a safe haven, despite their many shortcomings. The land used was originally filled with weeds and had to be cleared beforehand. The ground easily becomes muddy when it rains, which also draws out snakes, which can be a nuisance.

Evacuees are using electricity provided by residents who were not badly affected. To meet their water needs for bathing, washing clothes and toilets, residents must connect a hose to a water source.

Additionally, she has no relatives she can stay with, because they have also been affected by the earthquake.

Though the conditions at the evacuation shelters are far from comfortable, Aliyah (60), an evacuee, says she had no other choice. Her house was so badly damaged that it is now uninhabitable. Additionally, she has no relatives she can stay with, because they have also been affected by the earthquake.

“So I can’t go anywhere. I can only stay here,” she said.

A small number of earthquake survivors in the Ciputri area have decided to leave the evacuation shelters. For example, Nurhayati’s family is staying at her parents’ house in Cipanas, because her husband and children are sick and she is worried that their condition might worsen if they remain at a shelter.

They only stay at their relatives’ homes at night, returning to the shelter during the day.

“We come to the evacuation post to collect basic necessities while stopping by [our] house and collecting our things,” she said.

Evi, a resident of RW 001 in Cijedil village, Cugenang district, also returns to the evacuation shelter despite staying at a relative’s house in the district center.

“It’s still hard to stay at your relatives’. For food, we request aid. If we need anything, the residents have been encouraged to come here” to the shelter, she said.

Evi and other residents actually have been provided with shelters in several locations. However, these are quite far from their homes, as Cijedil was most affected by the earthquake.

Distributing aid

Until Sunday, aid from various parties continued to arrive at the central evacuation post. Aid, including clean water from the Indonesian Red Cross, was also distributed to other evacuation posts. At least 11 tank trucks with a capacity of 500 liters each were deployed to 16 evacuation shelters.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Gifari draws on a tent for earthquake victims in Ciputri Village, Pacet District, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Thursday (11/24/2022).

In addition to logistics and distribution, officers are still searching for 14 victims who are still missing. The search area spans Warung Sate Shinta, Cijedil and Cicadas kampung.

Bandung Search and Rescue (SAR) head Jumaril said all personnel and sniffer dogs had been deployed to search for the missing victims. Heavy equipment was also sent to help with the search. (ERK/IKI/Z08/Z10/CHE)

(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia).