Number of
Indonesian earthquake victims rises
THE May 27 earthquake that shook the center of
the densely-populated Indonesian island of Java has
killed at least 6,234 people, a spokesman for the
Social Affairs Ministry said on Thursday, June 1.
The
quake’s epicenter was located near the former royal
capital of Yogyakarta, and caused vast destruction
to that region of the Asian nation, Reuters reported.
The 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which occurred
shortly after dawn, destroyed thousands of homes and
left at least 130,000 victims.
200,000 CHILDREN THREATENED BY INFECTIONS IN JAVA
BANTUL — About 200,000 Indonesian children under
5 years of age in Java are at risk of contracting
serious infectious diseases and diarrhea as a
consequence of last Saturday’s earthquake.
Four days after the quake, common illnesses such
as diarrhea, the flu, and pneumonia have emerged
amidst precarious hygienic conditions. A lack of
potable creates a risk for those illnesses; in
addition, hospitals are full of patients and lack
medical supplies and medicine due to the slowness of
aid arriving, Notimex reported.
Just in Bantul, one of the areas most affected by
the earthquake, and now a distribution center for
humanitarian organizations, the quake destroyed nine
of 12 water-treatment centers.
