Indonesian family finds 84-year-old woman alive days after earthquake
SIKKA: A paralysed 84-year-old woman has been found alive three days after a strong earthquake flattened her home on an Indonesian island, an official said Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 73.
An 84-year-old, paralyzed woman named Paulina Pobi was discovered alive after being trapped under collapsed bamboo walls for three days following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Indonesia's Flores island. The quake caused widespread destruction, flattening over 600 homes and rendering nearly 60,000 people homeless, as reported by Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, BNPB.
The elderly woman's family, who initially thought she had been rescued and taken to a shelter, returned to search for her on the fourth day. Due to her paralysis, she remained immobile and silent, making her discovery a surprise. Although weak from lack of food and water, Paulina was reported to be in good health with no injuries.
More than 3,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial disaster, with at least 86 strong enough to be felt. Despite the ongoing tremors, many residents are too afraid to return to their damaged homes. Aid efforts have been ongoing, with nearly 400 tonnes of supplies, including food, water, and medicines, delivered to the affected area since the earthquake occurred.
Indonesia, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity, including a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake in 2004 that triggered a tsunami and killed approximately 220,000 people, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
