Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) on Thursday began sending relief aid to victims of the earthquake that hit Bengkulu province on Wednesday.
The humantarian organization on Thursday sent 1,000 pieces of tarpaulin, 1,500 hygiene kits, 150 packages of family kits from its warehouses in Padang, West Sumatra, and medicine for about 1,000 patients from its warehouse in Jakarta, the PMI said in a statement.
"The aid will be handed over to Bengkulu`s PMI office which will distribute it to victims," the head of PMI`s Disaster Handling Division, Arifin Muh. Hadi, said.
In the meantime, PMI Bengkulu had deployed 30 volunteers to carry out a field assessment in North Bengkulu, the worst-hit area.
PMI`s assistance would be distributed based on the results of the field assessment.
A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 that rocked Indonesia`s Bengkulu province at 6.10 p.m. on Wednesday has claimed the lives of six people, injured 23 others and damaged tens of houses, public buildings and infrastructure facilities.
According to reports received by the Bengkulu branch of the Natural Disaster Mitigation Coordination Agency (Bakorna) at 11 am on Thursday, the newly discovered victims were residents of Bengkulu Utara and Muko Muko districts, Hamsyir Lair, the chief of the agency`s local unit, said.
Some 32 houses and shophouses were totally destroyed -- eight in Bengkulu City and 24 in Bengkulu Utara --, 430 buildings were seriously damaged and 609 others suffered minor damage.
Hamsyir said the natural disaster had also wreaked havoc on eight houses of worship in Bengkulu City and Bengkulu Utara while three school buildings suffered minor damage.
Although the tremblor was not as catastrophic as the 7.3 magnitude quake of June 4, 2000 when 95 people were killed and tens of thousands of house buildings were damaged, it caused anxiety about a tsunami.
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