An 84-year-old paralysed woman was found alive three days after Flores earthquake

SIKKA, Indonesia — An 84-year-old paralysed woman was found alive three days after a powerful earthquake destroyed her home on an Indonesian island, an official said on 19 August, as the death toll from the disaster rose to 73.

More than 900 people were injured and nearly 60,000 were displaced after the magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores island on 15 August, according to the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB).

Paulina Pobi’s home on a small island north of Flores was among hundreds destroyed by the earthquake. The 84-year-old was buried alive beneath collapsed bamboo walls.

She remained trapped until her family returned to search for her on 18 August. The family had initially believed she had already been rescued and taken to a shelter.

“Because she was paralysed, she couldn’t move or speak, so it wasn’t until the fourth day that her family finally found her,” local official Rudolfus Riba told AFP.

“She is in good health; there were no injuries at all. She was just a bit weak because she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for days,” Rudolfus said.

“It feels unreal, almost like a miracle.”

More than 3,000 aftershocks have been recorded since 15 August, with at least 86 strong enough to be felt by residents, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG).

The continuing tremors have left many residents too frightened to return to their damaged homes.

The BNPB said nearly 400 tonnes of aid, including food, water and medicine, had been delivered since 15 August.

Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.

In 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed about 220,000 people across the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.