Lone doctor's plea for help in quake-struck Indonesia as 40,000 displaced

Doctor in earthquake-struck Indonesia pleads for support as number of injured and displaced rises In short: A young doctor says she has felt overwhelmed tending to injured patients by herself in a makeshift hospital on the earthquake-struck island of Flores. At least 70 people were killed and almost 1,200 others injured in the powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake. What's next? Communities are pleading for more support as the number of people injured and displaced continues to climb. As the scale of Saturday's deadly earthquake in eastern Indonesia emerged, a post on social media went viral. "I am physically unable to handle this many patients alone," wrote Dr Melinda Bella, a young doctor in East Manggarai, a regency island of Flores. "Please help," she said, ending her message with emojis of tears and prayer hands. For 36 hours after the earthquake struck, Dr Melinda was the only doctor working in the village of Dampek, one of the areas hit hardest by the disaster. The powerful magnitude-7.7 quake struck north of Flores on Saturday, inflicting enormous damage across Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. At least 70 people have been killed and nearly 1,200 injured, local authorities say. Dampek is in East Manggarai, where Dr Melinda worked around the clock to help the many injured. When the ABC sought out the young doctor, she was busily working in a makeshift hospital, which had been set up after the main health facility was damaged in the earthquake. A dozen people were lined up on stretchers, with IV bags tethered from a tarpaulin roof. Dr Melinda was working with nurses to check vital signs and treat injuries, while more patients were rolling in. She said for the first 36 hours after the earthquake, she did not receive any support. With no sleep and little to eat or drink, she treated the scores of injured people in her community. "So many patients came in at once, I had to handle it alone," she said. "I nearly collapsed three times while working … I had to hang on as much as I could." Victims sleeping outdoors and in overcrowded tents Dr Melinda's story has highlighted the painstaking recovery efforts underway in Indonesia, where many remote villages have become difficult to access because of damaged roads and landslides. More than 40,000 people have been displaced from their homes and nearly 12,000 houses have been damaged, said Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency, BNPB. Many homes, including near the makeshift clinic in Dampek, lie in ruins, reduced to piles of rubble. Families have set up temporary shelters and are sleeping under tarpaulins, largely exposed to the harsh Indonesian heat. Even if their homes mostly survived the initial quake, many have been sleeping outside, fearful of aftershocks that could bring rubble down on top of them. As of Monday night, many residents in the island's Manggarai regency, one of the areas most affected by the earthquake, were still living in makeshift shelters. Danur Yohana, who lives in the regency's Pong Lengor village, south-west of Dampek, said she was still living in an emergency tent with dozens of others, including children. "There are 12 tents and each tent is housing between 25 to 30 people including children," Ms Yohana told the ABC. Ms Yohana said many of the residents were unable to return home because their houses had been destroyed, while ongoing aftershocks had left them too "traumatised" to go back. About 1,600 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial earthquake, including a magnitude-5.8 earthquake in the region on Monday. "We are most likely to stay in tents for another 10 days until we finish rebuilding our homes with bamboo," Ms Yohana said. Thousands of people on Flores are also still waiting for aid, saying they do not have clean water or adequate food supplies. Ms Yohana said her community was still waiting for assistance from the government and was currently in need of food, as well as nappies for babies and elderly people. Local hero died in earthquake The region is also grappling with recovery efforts while mourning community members who were killed in the earthquake. One of the victims was Sofia Yosep, 73, a respected environmental advocate who was regarded by the local community in East Nusa Tenggara as a "hero and champion" of economic empowerment. "Her death is a profound loss for environmental conservation and community empowerment in Sikka," Yuyun Darti Baetal from the Bamboo Foundation told the ABC. During her lifetime, Ms Yosep, also known as Mama Bamboo, played an active role in planting more than 4,200 bamboo seedlings and thousands of fruit trees, including nutmeg, avocado, and durian, Ms Baetal said. "She helped to restore local ecosystems while creating new economic opportunities for residents." The Sikka regency resident died during the earthquake while she was waiting at the boat terminal in Maumere to board to Lewoloba, Ms Baetal said. "When the powerful tremors caused part of the terminal building to collapse, she was struck by falling debris and died at the scene." Help arrives, but workers still feel 'overwhelmed' Indonesia's government said more than 1,800 military and police personnel were working across the disaster zone, along with several aircraft to distribute aid and take the severely injured to larger hospitals. Hundreds of health facilities and schools were damaged in the quake. A 14-day state of emergency has been declared by the governor of East Nusa Tenggara. Dr Melinda told the ABC that help arrived from the provincial and district health departments on Sunday afternoon. "The heavily injured patients that I managed to stabilise on day one were taken to the main hospitals," she said. It has been a trial by fire for the young doctor, sent to the region just 10 months ago as a remote, junior doctor. "I am truly feeling overwhelmed," she said. ABC/wires [Image text:] WELINDA BELLA OKTER UMUM ROLY EME