Lone doctor's plea for help in quake-struck Indonesia as 40,000 displaced
"I am physically unable to handle this many patients alone," came the viral plea from the young doctor working alone in one of the earthquake's worst-affected areas.
A young Indonesian doctor, Dr Melinda Bella, has pleaded for assistance after being overwhelmed by the immense patient load following a devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake on the island of Flores. At least 70 people were killed and nearly 1,200 injured in the quake, which struck on Saturday, causing widespread destruction across East Nusa Tenggara province.
Dr Bella was the sole doctor working in the village of Dampek for 36 hours after the disaster, treating scores of injured patients under dire conditions with no sleep and little sustenance. The makeshift hospital she operated from had been set up after the main health facility was damaged, with a dozen patients lined up on stretchers awaiting treatment.
Dr Bella's harrowing account sheds light on the challenging recovery efforts in Indonesia, where remote villages remain inaccessible due to damaged roads and landslides. Over 40,000 people have been displaced, and nearly 12,000 homes have been damaged. Many families are huddled in makeshift shelters, exposed to the sweltering heat and threatened by aftershocks.
Despite the hardships, communities are still in desperate need of aid, including clean water, food, and essential supplies. Dr Bella, a junior doctor who arrived in the region just 10 months ago, expressed her overwhelming exhaustion and fear of the ongoing situation.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
