The Minister of Social Affairs ensures assistance for victims of the Malut and Sulut earthquakes

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Social Affairs ensures that it is ready to distribute assistance to earthquake victims in the North Maluku (Malut) and North Sulawesi (Sulut) regions with needs that are adjusted as the development of the data collection stage by the team of officers in the field.

"Our team is already on the ground and coordinating with the local Social Service. We will provide assistance according to the identified needs," said Social Minister (Mensos), Saifullah Yusuf, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, April 2.

Saifullah explained that until now the Ministry of Social Affairs is still waiting for reports from local governments that collect data, so it has not been able to convey the total estimate of assistance and the overall impact.

However, the coordination process continues to be carried out intensively, including through meetings that have taken place since morning to ensure a quick and targeted response.

A number of Disaster Standby Officers (Tagana) of the Ministry of Social Affairs have been deployed to the location to assist in emergency handling with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), TNI, Polri, and volunteers from various regions.

"We will provide support as soon as possible according to the needs on the ground," he said.

Previously, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the southwest region of Batang Dua Island, Ternate, North Maluku, and significant shaking was felt in a number of areas, such as Ternate, Manado, and Gorontalo with varying intensities up to MMI IV scale.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) noted that tsunami waves were detected in several coastal areas, including West Halmahera with a height of 0.30 meters, Bitung 0.20 meters, and North Minahasa 0.75 meters.

Meanwhile, the BNPB Center for Operations Control Directorate reported that as of Thursday afternoon, there was one death in Manado City, one person was lightly injured, and 16 families were affected in Minahasa Regency.

For infrastructure damage, five government offices, one hotel, and one public facility in the form of a KONI building were damaged in Manado City. In Minahasa Regency, two hospitals were reported to be severely damaged, more than 10 houses were affected, one government office was damaged, and one public facility was also affected.

Meanwhile, in the city of Ternate, one church building and two houses were reported to have been damaged by the earthquake.