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NATURAL DISASTER/ EARTHQUAKE - MATARAM. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo led a meeting on emergency efforts following a 6.4-magnitde earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara upon landing in the province on Sunday afternoon.
The meeting was held in Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin Airport in Sumbawa Island, immediately after the plane carrying the President and First Lady Iriana landed at the airport at 3 p.m.
After the meeting, Jokowi told journalist he had instructed officials from various institutions, including the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Social Affairs Ministry, Public Works and Housing Ministry and the Indonesian Military to work together to help people affected by the disaster.
“We hope [the emergency effort] can be organized this afternoon or tomorrow morning, so [authorities] from central, provincial and regency governments can move together,” the President said in a statement, adding that he would visit survivors on Monday morning.
In a separate statement, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) said it had readied 47 volunteers, two ambulances and six motorcycles to assist with victim evacuation. The PMI has also sent 250 hygiene kits and 250 blankets from its warehouse in Serang, Banten, as well as body bags and other equipment from Gresik, East Java.
As of Sunday afternoon, the earthquake was reported to have left 14 dead, 162 injured and thousands of homes damaged.
According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the 6.4- magnitude earthquake struck Lombok, Bali and Sumbawa on Sunday at 6:47 a.m. local time. By 1 p.m. the agency had recorded 104 aftershocks, with the largest measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake did not trigger a tsunami.
