Asia-Pacific

Aid flows in for Java quake victims

(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-30 19:20

Speaking in a makeshift tent by a road outside Yogyakarta, Siwo Sudarmo said: "I'm very sad ... we haven't received any assistance. We have to make our own tents and I also learned that if you want to get a tent you have to fill out a form.

"Every day trucks with signs 'aid for quake' pass by but we can't stop them," he said, adding he was relying on donations from passers-by for money for clean water and instant noodles.

Idham Samawi, the head of Bantul regency, told Reuters that where people were in government shelters "the logistics supplies and others are sufficient ... all are satisfied."

"We have priority to rescue people and all people must eat." The social welfare head for Bantul region, Abu Dzarin, said there had been problems.

"The first day, on Saturday, we didn't have anything. On Sunday we distributed thousands of kilograms of rice ... On Monday the aid started coming," he said. "The problem is that we are not receiving enough aid."

Not all the people seeking help are victims, he added.

Government and aid group officials say clean water and shelter are the immediate needs, as well as medical care.

The United Nations is shipping three 100-bed field hospitals, tents, medical supplies and generators this week.

The International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday it had delivered 35 tonnes of relief materials to four locations, including Bantul, the district that suffered the most.