A year after quake, Yogya remembers

Yogyakarta, NU Online
Prayers and special ceremonies marked the first anniversary of the Java quake Saturday, while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised fast rehabilitation and reconstruction work in quake-hit regions.

Yudhoyono said Indonesia should be proud of its ability to deal with natural disasters and that the country had proven itself again by quickly implementing rehabilitation and reconstruction programs following the May 27 quake, which hit Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java.<>

He praised post-quake construction works, which were among the most extensive natural disaster recovery projects in the world -- and among the fastest.

"Several days ago I met a team dealing with (post-tsunami) Aceh -- the team was just returning from abroad," Yudhoyono said in Yogyakarta on Saturday.

"(Apparently) foreigners used to ask when Indonesia would finish its disaster management work, but now the question (asked of us is), what is the recipe for handling your disasters so quickly."

The President attended the commemoration event, which was marked by the signing of two plaques displaying the results of reconstruction around education facilities in Yogyakarta and Central Java at Taman Siswa park in Prambanan Temple complex.

As reported by The Jakarta Post, the event coincided with celebrations for the 2007 National Education Day and was attended by Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Central Java Governor Mardiyanto and ambassadors from Southeast Asian countries.

Yudhoyono also handed out awards to three governors, nine regents and mayors, and four teachers for their contribution toward education.

Former Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University rector Koesnadi Harjosumantri was awarded for initiating a field study for university students.

The sultan said that in Yogyakarta, the May 27 quake had damaged 430,334 houses, of which 176,191 were heavily damaged.

"More than 80 percent of the damaged houses have been reconstructed," he said.

Reconstruction in Yogyakarta was managed through the formation of 11,520 community groups with each group comprising 10 to 20 residents.

The groups received reconstruction funds worth Rp 15 million for each heavily damaged house.

The sultan said the quake had also damaged 1,892 schools, of which 1,622 had been rebuilt. The rest will be completed by the end of this year," he said.

The quake damaged 135 community health centers, of which 15 have been reconstructed, and 32 traditional markets, of which 21 have been repaired.

The sultan asked the central government to immediately pay for quake victims' medical costs. He said victims had been placed in 17 hospitals in Yogyakarta and medical costs had risen to Rp 15 billion.

Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said out of 801 schools damaged by the quake in the province, 587 had been repaired and of 84 damaged health facilities, 54 had been rehabilitated.

The quake in Central Java has also damaged 761 mosques, of which 52 have been reconstructed, while of 40 damaged churches, five have been rebuilt.

Mardiyanto said of the Rp 900 billion in first-round assistance funds, 78.22 percent had been used to reconstruct damaged houses in his province.

"The second batch of the assistance money will be distributed in July," said Mardiyanto, adding the quake heavily damaged 104,840 houses in the province.

Boediono said the quake caused a total Rp 29.1 trillion in financial losses.

"More than 500 organizations, both local and foreign groups, have given assistance following the quake," he said.

In Bantul regency, a mass prayer was conducted for 3,000 residents during a morning prayer session in the heart of the town.

"In the batik production center of Imogiri, batik makers displayed a 2,000-meter-long batik as an indication their industry was recovering following the disaster. (dar)