More than 43,000 people homeless, says Indonesian government

Jakarta (Indonesia): The Indonesian Government on Saturday released an official data stating that at least 43,000 people were displaced by the powerful earthquake that hit Aceh province on December 7.

Expressing grief over the situation the government officials said that the estimate of the number of the homeless people continued to grow as relief operations were being conducted in three districts near Pidie Jaya, the epicenter of the quake.

The disaster relief agency said that humanitarian groups were coordinating their efforts from a main command post in the worst affected district of Pidie Jaya.

It may be recalled that at least 100 people had died as an earthquake of intensity 5.6 magnitude had struck the country on Wednesday last.

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had traveled to areas of the province torn apart by the quake on Friday last and vowed to rebuild communities.