Central government prepares aid for earthquake impact in NTT

Indonesia's central government is on standby to provide assistance for areas impacted by an earthquake that struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Saturday, August 15. The government has expressed deep condolences for the reported fatalities resulting from the tremor.

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First of all, of course, we express our deepest condolences for the several, as reported to us, there are several fatalities due to the earthquake.

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi confirmed that reports of the earthquake and its impact have been relayed to President Prabowo Subianto. The government is actively coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies, including the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

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And indeed in several places there was a rise in water levels, but it was not too large.

Following the earthquake, the BMKG issued a brief tsunami early warning, which has since been lifted. While some areas experienced minor sea level rises, the situation did not escalate significantly. The central government has also been in communication with the Governor of NTT to ensure swift mitigation and emergency response measures are implemented.

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Both the central government and regional governments and all related agencies, including the TNI and Polri, are taking mitigation steps, taking rapid emergency response steps to especially immediately address the situation in the early stages of the event.

Reports indicate damage to buildings and infrastructure, particularly in Maumere, where a port experienced structural collapse, and several offices were also affected. Search and rescue teams are assessing damaged locations to account for the public's condition and to rescue any individuals potentially trapped in the rubble. The government has also prepositioned resources at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta, ready for deployment if needed.

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There are reports of several buildings being damaged due to the earthquake, one of which is in the port area in Maumere. There are reports of some people still in the rubble, and several buildings, there is a port in Maumere, there is rubble and then several offices also collapsed.