Sri Wahyuni and Blontank Poer, Bantul/Jakarta/Klaten Homeless survivors of Saturday's earthquake resorted to desperate measures Monday amid a dearth of assistance, with some camping out in a cattle shed and others begging for food from passersby.
As the death toll from the quake in Yogyakarta and Central Java passed 5,130 Monday, rescue workers continued the desperate search for people among the rubble.
It was similarly grim for the survivors, who were forced to take cover wherever they could amid a continuing downpour. They complained they were neglected amid the slow coordination of assistance.
They gathered together their few remaining morsels of food to be cooked and shared in communal meals.
"Without any assistance, our food supplies will run out within the next two days," said Singgir Kartana, a resident of Samen hamlet, Bambanglipuro district, in devastated Bantul regency.
Plastic tents dot the roads in the area, where more than 3,000 died and many saw their homes razed in the earthquake, which measured 5.9 on the Richter scale according to the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
Residents battled the driving rain to build a bigger shelter to accommodate more people. "Yesterday we lived in a very simple tent before moving to a cow shed due to the heavy rain," Singgir said, adding that about 450 houses in the hamlet were leveled by the quake.
Even residents whose homes withstood the disaster are staying outside. "I prefer not to return to my house. I'm still traumatized," said Mrs. Wiji, 70, who was buried under rubble together with her daughter Kiri, 18, before being rescued.
She is one of about 100 residents now living in an open makeshift shelter in nearby rice fields. Their anxiety increased when Mt. Merapi, the volcano lying north of the quake's epicenter and restless for many weeks, showed heightened activity Monday.
Bantul Regent Idham Samawi apologized for slow assistance, attributing it to limited personnel. He promised each district would get 5.5 tons of rice, 300 boxes of instant noodles and 100 boxes of bottled water.
In their desperation, some of the survivors, including children, begged for food from passersby.
Hospitals overwhelmed by five times their normal patient load appealed for more medical staff and supplies to treat the thousands of injured who overflowed from their wards, raising fears of the spread of disease amid an acute lack of facilities.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, speaking after a Cabinet meeting late Sunday, said a three-month state of emergency would be in effect in the quake-hit areas, with the government aiming to complete reconstruction within a year.
Kalla, who heads the National Disaster Management Agency, said Monday the government expected half of the total budget for the emergency relief and reconstruction process would come from foreign aid. The current budget estimate is Rp 1 trillion (about US$107.5 million) for a one-year period.
"We will give Rp 100,000 for utilities and another Rp 100,000 for clothes monthly for each household. We will give 12 kilograms of rice per person each month and Rp 3,000 each day for other food," said Kalla.
The government would provide about Rp 30 million to those whose homes were severely damaged, and Rp 10 million for those with minor structural damage. Payments would be made in two installments.
More international rescuers landed in the devastated region, including a 20-strong search and rescue team from Taiwan and an 87-member Malaysian rescue team which headed out of Bantul in a convoy.
Despite the dire need for help, some residents are being told to follow bureaucratic measures to receive assistance.
"I went to the district office but was asked to make a proposal," complained Sunardi, a resident of Jetis hamlet in Canan village, Wedi district in Klaten regency.
"We don't know how to do that." Locals have taken to stopping passing aid convoys for donations. "We're cooking everything with a lot of water so there is enough to go around."
Secretary of Gantriwarno district in Klaten, Kukuh Riyadi, said the regency's disaster mitigation unit told district and village officials to require the provision of a letter from district officials.
"The procedures are set by the regency administration, but it has got us into trouble when dealing with residents," said Kukuh, adding his office so far relied wholly on assistance from individuals and institutions.
[With additional reporting by Slamet Susanto in Yogyakarta and Suherdjoko in Bantul.]