Thousands of residents remain in temporary shelters days after a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia's Flores Island, uncertain when they can return home.
One of them is Baenah, who was at her shop when the earthquake jolted her hometown.
"When I arrived at the shop early in the morning, the earthquake suddenly struck. Everyone scrambled outside. We immediately ran up the mountain. We were all scared because of the tsunami warning. We ran up with water and a kilogram of rice and made our way to the hills," she said.
The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on August 15, with its epicenter near Mbay in Nagekeo Regency. One of the strongest to hit the area in years, it occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers, causing severe surface damage.
Hundreds of buildings collapsed, roads cracked and communication lines were cut off in several provinces.
Search and rescue teams have been working around the clock to pull survivors from rubble, though their efforts have been hampered by damaged roads and difficult terrain.
"We are entering Day Four of the emergency rescue operations and so far, we do not have any data of missing persons or anyone buried under the rubble, so our focus now is moving from rescue to recovery," said Asfan Dulhasan, head of operations at Maumere Search and Rescue.
Authorities say dozens of aftershocks have rattled the region since the main quake. Some have been powerful enough to frighten residents and keep them from returning home.
At the shelters, volunteers and rescue workers have become the backbone of the relief operation, registering displaced residents, distributing food and providing basic medical assistance.
"As a rescue worker, the past few days have been very tough for all of us. We are going through a lot of mental, physical and emotional challenges, but this is the nature of our work and we will continue to do this for our fellow residents here in Flores," Dulhasan said.
Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency has declared a 14-day emergency response. Food, water and other basic supplies are being distributed at evacuation sites, but the affected area spans multiple remote regions, making it difficult to reach every family in need.
The death toll from the earthquake has risen to 70, with 132 others injured, authorities said Tuesday.
Survivors remain in shelters days after quake in Indonesia
