Indonesian quake survivors struggle to find water, shelter

SAHRIA Lelu and her family were still living in a tent outside a mosque six weeks after a powerful earthquake that killed dozens in Indonesia, demonstrating the hard road home for thousands of survivors.

The 7.7-magnitude quake near Flores island on Aug 15 damaged tens of thousands of homes and left the water supply in limbo on one small island — but it has also been followed by roughly 15,000 aftershocks.

"What prevents us to go back home is that we are still traumatised, very traumatised," said the 38-year-old resident of the Nagekeo district — one of the disaster-affected areas.

"Thank God, food is guaranteed here (and) there are volunteers to help us," she added in the wake of the disaster the government says led to the deaths of 151 people.

The quake triggered a tsunami alert and ocean waters reached Sahria's family home but did not destroy it. She fears the aftershocks could unleash more dangerous waves.

Over 46,000 houses were damaged by the seismic shock, and nearly 28,000 people were still displaced as of Sept 24, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Berton Panjaitan.

Many survivors who returned to their homes have preferred to camp outside, wary that their houses could collapse due to one of the new shocks.

Sitting outside her damaged house in Flores' Sikka district, Maria Onselia said she has struggled since the disaster to find buyers for the fabric she weaves.

"We are struggling to eat," said the 59-year-old. "In this season, it's hard to get water. We have to buy water, before we can buy rice."

She, too, was afraid to return to her damaged home so was living in a tent.

The government was aiming to have 314 units of temporary housing by late November, said Nagekeo deputy district head Gonzalo Gratianus Muga Sada.

The government is set to construct more than 2,400 units of permanent lodging to replace those heavily damaged by the quake, said disaster agency spokesperson Berton.

Residents on neighbouring Palue, a tiny island of around 10,000 just north of Flores, have had to worry about having drinking water since the disaster.

People are buying water to meet their needs but also collect it by using bamboo poles to tap into and condense steam from geothermal sources on the volcanic island.

"What concerns us... is clean, drinking water shortages, because currently it is completely dry. All storage tanks were broken," said 40-year-old teacher Methildus Nestor Langga.

Recovery still seems distant for many of the survivors.

Sahria said she does not know how long she will have to live away from her home, adding that officials have been despatched to assess damage around her village.

The earthquake also damaged a car and bike repair shop run by her husband, cutting the family's source of income and forcing her to sell fish to earn some money.

She pleaded for the government to help her family, including the struggle to get the money to pay for her children's schooling.