Indonesia family finds 84-year-old woman alive days after earthquake

On an Indonesian island, a 84-year-old woman named Paulina Pobi, who was paralysed, survived three days after her home was destroyed by a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The quake struck off Flores island on Saturday, leaving over 73 people dead, more than 900 injured, and nearly 60,000 displaced. Paulina's house, situated on a small island north of Flores, was one of the hundreds of homes that collapsed under the force of the earthquake, burying her beneath the debris of bamboo walls.

Unable to move or speak due to her paralysis, Paulina remained trapped until her family returned to search for her on Tuesday. Local official Rudolfus Riba revealed that it took four days for her family to discover her, as she was in good health with no injuries. The constant aftershocks, which have totaled over 3,000 since Saturday, with at least 86 strong enough to be felt, have made many residents too terrified to return to their damaged homes.

The disaster relief agency BNPB has provided nearly 400 tonnes of aid, including food, water, and medicines, since the quake. Indonesia, located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position in a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity that extends from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.

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