There are hundreds of disaster victims in Dampek village - but only one doctor. When a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Flores on Saturday, this area was among the worst-hit. Health facilities were toppled, electricity networks cut, and after two days aftershocks still rattled the makeshift shelters while inside, medical supplies rapidly diminished.
"I am the only doctor here with hundreds of victims. I truly cannot cope," read an urgent appeal from Dr Melinda, the sole physician at the now-decimated Dampek Health Centre, on Sunday. "I have not had any rest since yesterday because casualties keep arriving around the clock." It is a problem that is playing out across Flores, as aid disruptions and ongoing tremors fuel fears among thousands of displaced survivors.
Refugees are sleeping outdoors through sweltering days and frigid nights for fear that more buildings may collapse. Tents set up amid the rubble of collapsed hospitals are serving as makeshift emergency rooms for injured patients. And as landslides sever access roads and supplies dwindle in several parts of the island, there are growing concerns about how much longer survivors can hold out.
At least 68 people have been killed and some 5,000 displaced by the earthquake, which struck shortly before 06:00 Saturday ( Friday) at a depth of just 15km. It is the country's deadliest quake since 2022, when hundreds of people were killed in West Java. Search-and-rescue teams and volunteers, including medical personnel, are continuing efforts to reach communities that were cut off by Saturday's quake, negotiating access roads that are scarred by landslides or choked with boulders.
Dr Alhamzah, who works at Lalang Health Centre in East Manggarai, told the BBC on Monday that teams from regional hospitals were finally delivering much-needed assistance to places like Dampek - tending to severely injured patients with whatever resources they could muster. "If a patient's condition is critical, we will refer them to the hospital in Ruteng instead, which is about four hours away," he said. But Ruteng's hospital is also desperate for help.
"We heard that medical assistance would be provided, but nothing has arrived yet," Rista Mari, a public relations officer at the Ruteng Regional General Hospital, told the BBC. "We hope that assistance will arrive soon." Early data from Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency indicates that more than 1,000 houses were damaged by the earthquake, along with dozens of health facilities, schools and government offices. Medical teams are still working to determine the number of casualties, though - and the full scale of the disaster is still being uncovered.
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