Indonesian mother 'grateful' after emergency birth during 7.7 quake

Nagekeo, Indonesia: Amidst the violent tremors of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, Maria Florida Nogo Kelen, a 39-year-old mother, bravely gave birth to her fourth child. The catastrophic event, the deadliest in Indonesia since 2022, shattered homes, buildings, and bridges in the East Nusa Tenggara province. Despite the chaos, Maria delivered her baby girl, Gempita, two months early due to a complicated pregnancy.

During the emergency surgery, Maria held onto hope, stating, "I had to be healthy for my kids." Doctors, battling power outages and the hospital shaking, used flashlights to perform the risky procedure, fearing that delaying the birth could have led to Maria's fatal seizure. The birth of Gempita, named after the Indonesian word for earthquake, "Gempa," marked a small victory amidst the disaster that has claimed 54 lives across the region.

As rescuers searched for survivors trapped under rubble and delivered aid via planes, Maria, who suffered a hemorrhage, expressed her gratitude, saying, "I was very grateful for the doctors, even when the room had collapsed, they did not abandon us."