Update: 268 Died in Indonesia Earthquake, Jokowi Visits Location

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was leaving for Cianjur Regency, West Java Province on Tuesday afternoon (22/11/2022). Jokowi's visit this time is to ensure that the victims of the Cianjur earthquake receive good treatment.

Quoting a press release from the Presidential Secretariat Bureau, Jokowi want to directly observe the impact of the M5.6 earthquake in Cianjur.

"Several locations that are reviewed directly are hospitals, disaster-affected areas, and also evacuation posts," said Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media Secretariat of President Bey Machmudin.

As of Tuesday evening, the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) said there are 268 people who lost their lives because of the earthquake.

For information, Jokowi chose to go to Cianjur Regency by land rather than by air with a helicopter. He wanted to see directly the condition of the road that was damaged by the earthquake.

Apart from that, continued Bey, President Jokowi wanted to ensure logistical assistance, such as food, drinks, medicines, groceries and other assistance for earthquake victims did not encounter any obstacles in their distribution.

The earthquake centered in Cianjur on Monday 21 November 2022 has cut off access to the Cianjur-Cipanas-Puncak Bogor national road. The Cianjur-Bogor access road is closed due to a landslide.

"There are two roads that now cannot be accessed due to landslides, one national road and one district road," said the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy.

President Joko Widodo asked the emergency response team to prioritize searching for victims of landslides and earthquakes in Cianjur, West Java.

"For the victims who are still buried, I order them to be prioritized. Evacuate them, rescue them first," said Jokowi while visiting the location of the road that is buried by the landslide in Cianjur.

Jokowi also stated that he had ordered the Menko PMK, BNPB, Basarnas (national rescue agency), Minister of Public Works and Housing, national army, and Indonesian policies to help deal with the earthquake and landslides that occurred in Cianjur.

"Mainly related to access, opening access that was buried by landslides," he said.

Jokowi also promised to provide rehabilitation assistance for residents' houses that were badly, moderately and lightly damaged. The amount of assistance starts from Rp 50 million to Rp 10 million.

"For heavy damage Rp 50 million, Rp 25 million for medium damage, and Rp 10 million for light damage," he explained.

However, victims who receive this assistance are required to build or repair their houses using earthquake-resistant building standards.

"Because it was conveyed by the BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency) that this earthquake was an earthquake of the 20-year cycle. So we directed the houses to be anti-earthquake," he concluded.

Writer: Safinatun Nikmah.

Muhammad Radityo Priyasmoro and Achmad Sudarno contributed to the report.