REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, N LOMBOK -- A total of 8,919 families, or 23 thousand residents, of North Lombok District remained displaced. As of Wednesday, many of them still stay outside their houses in the aftermath of the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit their villages on Sunday morning.
"The displaced residents need tents and blankets, because many of them still sleep outside their houses," Secretary of the North Lombok District Government, H. Suardi, told journalists in Bayan Subdistrict on Wednesday.
He stated that the humanitarian aid packages had been distributed to the needy in disaster-hit areas around North Lombok District area, including the villages of Sambik Elen, Batu Gerantung, and Karang Bajo. The total number of those affected was so big, and many of the victims have set up emergency tents by themselves.
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Local police conducted routine patrols in order to secure the houses, which the disaster victims left for taking refuge, from theft. The district government has also prioritized the safety of its residents by providing them temporary shelters and medical treatment for the wounded ones, he added.
The earthquake damaged 1,146 houses, killed five people, and left 78 others injured, he explained.
The quake hit Lombok and Sumawa Islands on Sunday at 6:47 a.m. local time but did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami. The death toll from the 6.4-magnitude earthquake has reached 16 as of Sunday.
The death toll included nine in East Lombok District, five in North Lombok District, a Malaysian tourist, and a climber coming from South Sulawesi Province.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has expressed its deepest condolences over the death of the Malaysian national. "A Malaysian national is one of the fatalities in this disaster. I have expressed my deep condolences to my Malaysian counterpart," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in her official Twitter.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has provided the affected foreign nationals with two contact persons, namely Erie Nur Bawono in Jakarta (+6287776662309) and Zaenal Abidin in Lombok Island (+6282111443479), in case of any consular assistance.
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