Jakarta, ThedailyID — Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) has called for a serious review of evacuation services after 94 people died in shelters following a major earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on August 15, 2026.
The figure has drawn attention because it exceeds the number of people who died from the earthquake’s direct impact. DPR Commission VIII member Hetifah Sjaifudian said the situation requires a thorough evaluation.
“The high number must receive serious attention in evaluating protection and services for people after a disaster,” Hetifah said on Friday, September 18.
Hetifah also expressed condolences to the victims. Verification by the Health Ministry and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) found that most of those who died were elderly people with chronic illnesses.
Those conditions included stroke and diabetes. For Hetifah, the data highlights the need for evacuation systems that can identify and protect vulnerable groups from the first day.
“We need to look more deeply at what happened while they were in the shelters. Did elderly people with diabetes receive their medication regularly? This needs to be evaluated openly,” she said.
She noted that evacuation shelters can create serious health challenges. Conditions that may be manageable for healthy people can become much harder for elderly people, babies, pregnant women, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses.
Previous reports from some shelters also pointed to limited access to basic needs. These included blankets, temporary shelter, clean water, medicines and health facilities.
“The case of a toddler whose condition worsened because of the cold deeply touched me. Disaster response should not stop once people have been evacuated,” Hetifah said.
She urged BNPB, the Health Ministry, local governments and other relevant agencies to review the 94 deaths. She said the goal should be to identify weaknesses rather than simply assign blame.
“The goal is not to find someone to blame. We need to know whether some of these deaths could have been prevented,” Hetifah said.
“If there are weaknesses in our system, they must be fixed now so they do not happen again in the next disaster,” she added.
BNPB previously reported 48 deaths directly caused by the NTT earthquake. Another 94 people died indirectly while staying in evacuation shelters.
“There were 48 people who died directly from the earthquake, while 94 died indirectly in the evacuation shelters,” BNPB acting head of disaster data, information and communications Berton SP Panjaitan said in a September 15 online briefing.
The combined figure puts the total number of deaths linked to the earthquake at 142 people, according to BNPB’s reported data.
