[Kabar-indonesia] Time Running Out as Indonesian Quake Survivors Brace for Monsoon Rains

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

Indonesian Earthquake Survivors Brace For Monsoon Rains

BANTUL, Indonesia, Oct. 3 (AP) -- International aid workers are scrambling to 
provide shelter to 800,000 survivors of an earthquake that struck Indonesia 
four months ago and turned out to be the world's fourth most devastating in a 
century in terms of people made homeless. 

But with monsoon rains approaching, 42-year-old Siti Hajar fears time is 
running out. 

She and seven members of her extended family are living in the only room left 
standing of their demolished home, the roof cobbled together from wood and 
tiles found among the quake's debris. 

"We just hope we can fix it before the rains come," the mother of four said. 

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit Java island on May 27 killed more than 
5,900 people - a relatively small number compared to, say, the 80,000 killed 
in the Pakistan quake seven months earlier. 

But it displaced a total 1.5 million, putting it behind only Honduras' 
Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the 1999 Turkish quake, and the 2004 tsunami that smashed 
into 12 countries, including Indonesia's Aceh province, in terms of the number 
of people left homeless, the United Nations says. 

Some 700,000 people are now living in decent shelter, but aid workers say 
money needed to help the remaining survivors has been slow in coming. 

Only 40% of the US$80.11 million requested by the U.N. has arrived, a 
shortfall blamed on donor fatigue, with the disaster coming so soon after the 
Pakistan quake and the tsunami. 

"We can only assist people if we have the funding," said John Long, the U.N. 
coordinator in the disaster zone. 

Indonesia's cash-strapped government, meanwhile, has done little so far to 
build homes. 

It says it will start giving families affected by the quake US$1,600 in the 
first week of October so they can rebuild their own houses, but victims are 
losing patience. 

They have staged several rallies in recent weeks demanding the government 
speed up and simplify distribution of aid - especially the housing reconstruction 
grants. 

"If the government is really able to do what they say they will do, it is 
quite impressive," said Oystein Larsen, head of delegation of the International 
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 

"Otherwise, this could become a very ugly situation." 

It has been up to international aid organizations to provide temporary, 
bamboo shelters, with 20,000 of 70,000 built so far, each costing around US$200 and 
expected to last three to five years. 

While not perfect, the temporary shelters are "better than a tent or a tarp," 
Larsen said, adding that they are quake resistant and have permanent roofs. 

Some residents have been struggling to rebuild on their own, but without 
money they must rely on recycled goods or the cheapest building materials they can 
find. 

Dave Hodgkin, a shelter specialist from the U.N. Development Programme, said 
that appears to be a common problem and a cause for concern - especially in a 
seismically charged region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

A moderate tremor could turn some of the shoddily built homes into rubble in 
a matter of seconds, putting even more lives at risk. 

"We are deeply concerned the permanent construction that's going on now will 
be a 'build backward,' instead of 'build back better'," said Hodgkin. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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