The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/06/2009 8:05 PM  |  National

The government will cut short emergency response activities to help victims of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in West Sumatra from two months to one month to facilitate reconstruction and rehabilitation works in the devastated province.

National Disaster Management Agency head Syamsul Maarif said after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday the government deemed life in the regions hit by the disaster had started to return to normal.

“People have begun to go about their normal lives, therefore the emergency response will be sped up to allow rehabilitation and reconstruction to commence sooner,” he said.

Social Services Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo, national development planning minister Paskah Suzetta and Home Minister Mardiyanto attended the meeting at the chief welfare ministry.

Syamsul said rehabilitation and reconstruction in the quake-hit regions was expected to start in early November.

“We want reconstruction to begin and houses to be rebuilt as soon as possible, so that the quake victims can return home and carry on with their lives,” he said.

He added the agency was evaluating the damages from the quake to the infrastructure, local economy and society.

The government, Syamsul went on, would draw up a model for rehabilitation and reconstruction work, which could emulate the Aceh or Yogyakarta models.

“The Aceh model will require the formation of a special body, while the Yogyakarta model will involve public participation. We may combine the two,” Syamsul said.

The official death toll from the quake is now 704, with 295 people still missing. The agency has registered more than 100,000 homes that were severely damaged.

Syamsul said the search for more bodies feared trapped under rubble or mud would continue in 35 areas, while the distribution of food and medical supplies in isolated areas had been accelerated using helicopters and small vehicles.

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