Alert

Indonesia - No. 28/2009

West Sumatra earthquake- ACT members respond

Geneva, 01 October 2009

1. Brief description of the emergency

A major earthquake magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale struck West Sumatra yesterday causing havoc and major damage to the provincial capital of Padang and Pariaman District. Padang, a city of 900,000 people, sits on one of the world's most active fault lines along the so-called "Ring of Fire". The epicenter of the earthquake was located 57 km. west of Pariaman and at a sea depth of 71km, with its affects felt around the region including in Singapore and Malaysia.

2. Impact

ACT members in Indonesia report thousands of houses as heavily damaged or destroyed by fire, several hospitals destroyed, and many shopping centres and stores also burnt down. The government health department has reported that hundreds of people are still trapped in damaged buildings. The public hospital which should act as the main center for coordinating Padang's health disaster preparedness is heavily damaged, as well as private hospitals. As at 22:13 local time on Wednesday, the death toll in Padang and Pariaman was reported to have reached at least 75 people and is expected to rise as people are found under the rubble.

According to the local government, around 80% of the houses in the area have been destroyed across 3 sub-districts (17 villages). Twenty-eight (28) people are reported dead. No information is yet available on the number of injured. ACT member Church World Service's staff member on the ground in Padang Pariaman Subdistrict reports today that the mountain area is most severely affected, while in the coastal areas there is only minor damage. "People are living outside their damage houses without proper shelter. We suspect more damages affected other part of Padang Pariaman." ACT member YTBI's church partner in the area reports that many people in Pariaman District moved for safety to areas of open fields. Some sought refuge in the local mosques, but many mosques have been filled and many people are without shelter. People in the Mentawai Isles, west of Padang were taking shelter in the hills last night in fear of aftershocks which could cause a tsunami.

Electricity in Padang is cut off so that communication is difficult. Roads are blocked in many places. The airport in Padang was closed leaving many passengers stranded, but was expected to re-open this morning.

ACT members report that the level of damage is far worse than the earthquake in West Java that occurred on 2nd September and to which they are already currently responding. Government officials have warned that the extent of damage could be as bad as that cause by the 2006 earthquake in Yogyakarta, Java when 5,000 people were killed and 150,000 homes damaged. Immediate humanitarian needs identified by ACT members include tents due to heavy rain, medical teams and additional equipment to help with search and rescue of survivors trapped in buildings.

The Government of Indonesia has declared that an emergency response should be prepared for a period of up to two months.

3. ACT International response

ACT members YTBI, Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) and Church World Service (CWS) began mobilizing and coordinating their responses on Wednesday.

YTBI has been communicating with their church partner, the Protestant Christian Church of Mentawai in Padang (GKPM). GKPM is in the area conducting assessments, and two YTBI staff members are preparing to bring aid via land from Medan (North Sumatra).

YTBI has been able to mobilize local resources from various supporters of USD 20,000 to support provision of food and non food item assistance. YTBI has also received support from PLAN International to provide tents and blankets which will be distributed through YTBI's church partner. In addition, YTBI has received medicines from the Indonesian Association of Pharmaceutical Industries for distribution to the affected population. These will be distributed through the YTBI networks including with fellow ACT member YEU, Muhhamadiyah Disaster Management Center and Dompet Dhuafa who have medical teams on the ground.

Since yesterday evening, YAKKUM's emergency response team has been working with their medical Rehabilitation Centre has also deployed intial relief materials along with a medical team. A team of 5 nurses, 2 medical doctors and 1 logistician was deployed to Pariaman this afternoon (local time), together with hundreds of blankets, tents and personal hygiene kits. Tomorrow, another team will be heading to Padang from Jakarta to support coordination at the Provincial level in Padang. Rapid and in-depth assessments to be conducted will focus on health and related water and sanitation and psychosocial issues in coordination with the government and related bodies.

YEU's focus will be on assisting injured people with less access to health care and those with potentially permanent disabilities as well as on women, children and the elderly with specific needs. This will be provided through mobile health services and in coordination with the existing health structures.

CWS staff have arrived in Pariaman, Padang Pariaman Subdistrict and are conducting a rapid assessment. The area is still hard to access due to the main road being still blocked.

Two truck loads are on their way to the area delivering non-food relief items from CWS's prepositioned stocks in Calang, along with three more staff to assist in their distribution. This assistance should reach the affected area within 40 hours. CWS will focus its response in Padang Pariaman District with a population of 388,098 persons. Relief items being sent include plastic mats, blankets, tarpaulins, family-size tents, buckets and relief kits for infants.

Other ACT members, including Christian Aid and Danchurchaid, are also mobilizing support to these responses and funding pledges have started to be received from members worldwide.

The ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva expects to receive proposals next week from the members for an international appeal.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).

(ends)

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.