Jakarta. Disaster Management Center (DMC) and Dompet Dhuafa Waspada distributed solar panel lamps to the evacuation centers in Hutanabolon and Sipange in disaster-hit North Sumatra.

These lights have become a lifesaver for many families amidst the power outages. The lamps also help the volunteers who are working late.

"We need lamps... because that's what gives us light, that's our hope, the lamps," said Nasrina Jebua, one of the solar lamp beneficiaries.

"So there's light, who knows, if there's a landslide [or flood], we can escape," she said.

In some cases, solar lamps are also being used to light tents and public facilities that were previously pitch black.

The recovery process across the flood-hit Sumatra is uneven. Some people have begun cleaning their homes, but the energy shortage still persists. Taqi Falsafati, the field manager of Dompet Dhuafa DMC, said that the organization hoped that the lamps could become an "alternative source of light".

Several locations at the hardest-hit areas still lack ready-to-eat meals, clean water, hygiene kits, school kits, basic necessities, as well as generators and water tanks. Dompet Dhuafa said that alternative lighting, such as solar panel lamps, would also become a priority aid to brace for further landslides.

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