A devastating earthquake hit Indonesia over the weekend, even as the country is still struggling to recover from the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra Island that killed about 168,000 people in the country in December 2004.
This time a magnitude-6.3 quake ripped apart vast areas of the ancient city of Yogjakarta and adjacent, mostly farming, communities in the central part of Java Island. More than 5,500 people were killed, more than 10,000 others injured, and as many as 200,000 people left homeless.
The effects of the temblor will be felt for a long time. Both governmental and nongovernmental organizations must offer not only immediate food, water and health assistance but also long-term assistance that includes making the quake-hit region resilient to future earthquakes.