Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Lombok this week, taking a trail motorcycle with the regional governor to view the wreckage at some of the island’s flattened villages and visit evacuation posts.
During the trip, Widodo and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi reportedly distributed aid to earthquake victims and gave books to children at refugee centers. But they also unveiled their “big strategy” on how to handle the quake.
The country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) estimates that total damages in Lombok from the earthquake are about IDR5.04 trillion (US$344.4 million). The death toll, meanwhile, is at 436 and counting, as victims continue to be pulled from the rubble.
Jokowi’s directives
After a meeting on Monday in Tanjung, Lombok, the president gave a list of directives to instruct how the post-disaster response will be handled.
While the earthquake and its aftermath have yet to be declared a national disaster, the president has announced that special funds are being allocated to manage the post-disaster response and rebuilding.
Firstly, the government will help build houses for earthquake victims, allocating IDR50 million (US$3,416) per family for those whose homes suffered heavy damage and IDR25 million (US$1,708) for families whose homes experienced “moderate” damage. Data must be collected to asses how many houses have been damaged lightly, moderately, and heavily, Widodo said.
The president estimates that 1,000 families will qualify for severe damage assistance.
Next, the president requested his staff prioritize the rebuilding of infrastructure that’s key to the local economy.
“For public facilities related to the economy, such as pasar (local markets), this takes precedence. Especially for markets that are lightly damaged. They should be repaired immediately and the community is encourage to return to their economic activity,” Kompas quoted Jokowi as saying.
The president then explained that as the same area has been hit several times by earthquakes since 1979, local residents should be educated about earthquake-resistant construction.
“We have to start from now,” he said, explaining that the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing will be involved with enforcing the construction standards. How precisely those rules would be enforced and to what, if any degree, government funding would aid in that process was unclear.
Finally, Jokowi demanded that the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing immediately set about fixing education and health facilities damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
“Don’t let our children go too long without being able to study. We also hope that teaching and learning activities at school can be restored,” he said.
In attendance at the meeting were governor Majdi, Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, Military Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, and head of BNPB, Willem Rampangilei.
Not a national disaster
The devastating earthquake that struck North Lombok on Aug. 5 has not been declared a “bencana nasional,” or national disaster, because its impact is regional, meaning it’s being treated as a “state of emergency” on the provincial level, according to the Indonesian government. But not everyone agrees with this decision.
The quake, which hit the island’s north the hardest, was recorded as a 7.0 by Indonesia’s BMKG, though USGS has filed it as 6.9. More than 500 aftershocks have rippled through Lombok since. Thousands have had to evacuate, left without shelter, power, and access to clean water, and entire villages have been flattened.
The fact that the scale and impact of the earthquake apparently don’t qualify it as a “bencana nasional” is a huge mistake, according to the deputy secretary of Indonesia’s House of Representatives, Fahri Hamzah.
Hamzah has been very vocal about the government declaring the situation a national disaster, and has gone a step further to urge that a special agency be formed to handle relief and rebuilding.
Hamzah touched down in Lombok on Saturday and has been tweeting updates and findings throughout his trip, including reports of poor conditions in field hospitals.
“I appeal for a more comprehensive handling (of the situation) and that a special agency immediately be formed for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Lombok post earthquake.”
Ketidakmungkinan itu juga karena pertama2 tak mungkin kepala daerah bersurat ke presiden yg artinya dia menyatakan diri menyerah dan tak mampu memimpin situasi. kedua krn syarat2 lain yg sangat ketat. Saya melihat aturan tak sanggup membaca realitas. #BencanaNasionalLombok
— #KopiRevolusi (@Fahrihamzah) August 11, 2018
Director General of Social Protection and Security for the Ministry of Social Affairs Andi Zaenal Abidin Dulung previously explained what constitutes a national disaster in the wake of landslides that struck Central Java in 2014.
“One of the conditions for a natural disaster to be designated as a national disaster is our the regional government cannot function anymore,” Dulung told Tempo at the time.
A natural disaster exemplifying a national emergency in Indonesia was the 2004 tsunami that struck Aceh, Dulung said.
The regional government could not carry out its functions, so the central government had to send officers to assist in regional administration.
Indonesia not accepting help
However, one very real consequence of not declaring a “bencana nasional” is that foreign aid, supplies, and workers are not officially allowed to come in. By not making this declaration, the Indonesian government is essentially saying that they have it covered and are not seeking international assistance.
That means that some supplies donated by foreign NGOs have not been able to make their way into the country and into the hands of quake victims.
“All the medicine supplies they brought, 80 kilos worth, was quarantined at customs,” one aid worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, said of an international NGO in a conversation with Coconuts Bali.
“They were only allowed to collect them back on their way out of the country.”
Similarly, St. John Ambulance of Malaysia says that their disaster response team has returned to Malaysia.
“We have asked our teams to stand-down until further notice,” the St. John admin told Coconuts Bali in an email.
The Indonesian government “does not require foreign help at this moment of time,” the admin wrote.
“We are liaising with the Indonesian government officials in Malaysia to find out how we can assist if help is required. Like any other government which has been hit by a natural disaster, the Indonesian government has the right to take precautions and necessary steps as there has been couple of other tremors after the initial one which is not safe for rescue workers as well.”
