Traumatized family in Indonesia await news of loss

On Wednesday, November 23, traumatized family members awaited word on the fate of missing loved ones after an earthquake devastated a town in Indonesia’s West Java on Monday, and additional heavy equipment was dispatched to clear landslides that had buried towns.

The casualty toll from Monday’s 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Cianjur has continued to increase as the disaster’s full scope has become apparent. Authorities report that there are now 268 confirmed fatalities, up from 160 on Tuesday, and more than 150 are still missing.

On Wednesday, recovery operations will concentrate on one of Cianjur’s worst-affected districts, Cugenang, where at least one community is reported to have been buried by a landslide.

Residents can be seen digging with their bare hands or using hoes, rods, crowbars, and other implements in the brown ground.

Zainuddin, who was searching for six missing relatives, stated, “If it were merely an earthquake, only the homes would have collapsed, but this is worse due to the landslide.”

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In this residential neighborhood, there were eight houses that were completely buried and carried away.

More than one thousand police officers have been sent to aid search and rescue teams.

Indonesia is one of the most earthquake-prone nations on the planet and frequently reports offshore earthquakes of greater magnitude. But Monday’s 5.6-magnitude quake was especially lethal since it struck a highly populated region at a shallow depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles).

According to officials, inadequate building regulations also contributed to several fatalities.

During a Tuesday visit to Cianjur, some 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of the capital Jakarta, President Joko Widodo advocated for the inclusion of earthquake-resistant housing in reconstruction efforts.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that there was an essential need to provide quick surgical procedures due to the restricted capacity of hospitals following the earthquake.

During a visit to the disaster zone, he declared, “No more fatalities are my top goal.”

The top goal is ensuring that severely injured individuals are cared for so they can live.