Almost 50 foreigners have stayed behind in Indonesia’s Gili islands, despite a mass evacuation sparked by an earthquake jolting northern Lombok on August 5 that has killed 436 victims and counting.
“Indeed, there are 46 foreigners who have decided to stay in the village, that’s their own decision. They own and maintain property, such as villas, resorts, restaurants, dive centers, and others,” Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said on Monday, as quoted by Detik.
Yahya’s statement did not seem to include, however, the number of Indonesians remaining in the Gilis.
Very popular with tourists, the Gilis are three small idyllic islands off of Lombok’s northwestern coast.
Some foreigners who had hung back finally just left the islands over the week, Yahya added. That included 70 people from 19 different countries who have since been evacuated.
The National Police and the military have been deployed in the Gilis for security, he said.
Because it’s Gili, police have been conducting patrols on bicycle, Merdeka reported.
PLN, the national electricity company, has successfully restored electricity on all three Gili islands, regional PLN business director Djoko R. Abumanan confirmed with Tribun Bali on Sunday.
“The electricity in the three Gilis can be turned on quickly, but aftershocks on Thursday (Aug. 8) then destroyed the electricity,” he explained.
Power was up again by Sunday, though, Abumanan said.
PLN has been working with disaster posts on Lombok to make sure power is available at evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, PT Pertamina, the state-owned energy company, has been distributing fuel in North Lombok, to meet another basic need for communities hit by the earthquake.
At a “strategically placed” gas station in Kayangan, North Lombok, Pertamina filled 8,000 liters of petrol at the station.
“We opened the gas station because we believe many people need fuel. This greatly helps the mobility of people affected by the disaster,” Pertamina operator Paryadi told Tribun Bali on Sunday.
Two police officers have been posted at the gas station to keep things orderly, Pertamina spokesman Ricky Rakhman Yusuf said.
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