Yogyakarta (Indonesia): The death toll from the Indonesian earthquake rose past 5,400 on Tuesday.
And a state of emergency has been declared for three months.
An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude had struck the ancient city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta on Saturday killing atleast 5,400 and leaving thousands homeless. It was Indonesia’s worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
Families across the quake zone in central Java province huddled under rudimentary tents made of plastic sheeting and bamboo poles to escape the rain as United Nations agencies pledged to speed up the flow of aid.
And thousands of homeless survivors spend another night in the rain, waiting for much-needed relief. In many cases, straw mats were the only protection from the increasingly damp ground.
International agencies and foreign governments have begun delivering tents and tarpaulins to those in need, but the Red Cross has estimated there are 200,000 homeless people
and supplies are not yet sufficient.
The social affairs ministry said 5,427 were confirmed to have died in the 6.3 magnitude quake centred around the district of Bantul, south of the royal city of Yogyakarta.
UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland, who helped oversee tsunami relief in Indonesia's Aceh province in 2004, said the effort should be quicker in reaching quake victims.
"This time I think it's going to be easier because Java is not as remote as Aceh," he said.
"We are now able to help in a matter of hours after an earthquake strikes," Egeland said.
"We are better coordinated now than ever before."
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