ReliefWeb, 07 Mar 2007
Disaster preparedness helped save lives in Indonesia
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
(New York: 7 March 2007): Local search and rescue efforts were ongoing this morning
in affected areas of Indonesia's Sumatra island as the first United Nations
inter-agency assessment team arrived in the zone affected by yesterday's 6.3
magnitude tremor.
With Government sources currently revising the death toll downwards from 73 to 52
people, local media in the affected areas are reporting that the disaster preparedness
training received by affected communities helped them react to yesterday's
earthquake. The National Coordinating Board for the Management of Disaster
(BAKORNAS PB) and the United Nations Technical Working Group conducted
contingency planning activities in the area in 2006.
Reports also indicated that the power supply, telecommunications network and roads
in some areas remain disrupted. Nearly 200 injuries have been recorded, and the
number continues to rise, while more than 3,600 homes and 20 schools were
damaged. Indonesia is leading the emergency response with support from a number
of United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross/Red
Crescent Movement and other Governments.
Free medical services are being provided in affected communities. The Indonesian
Ministry of Health has dispatched beds, tents, supplementary food for infants and
emergency kits, while the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has also opened its
warehouses in Padang and Jakarta for the response, sending family kits, blankets,
tarpaulins, medicines and water purification tablets. The West Sumatra Provincial
Health Office has deployed three medical teams to the affected areas. Various private
sector entities in West Sumatra are also providing assistance, including food, school
supplies, tents, medicine and medical workers, and other relief.
For its part, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will deliver school tents,
water bladders, hygiene kits, cooking sets, water purification tablets, and jerry cans.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in close cooperation with the Ministry of
Health, is monitoring the health situation and has placed emergency trauma kits and
health professionals on standby. NGOs, including Médecins du Monde, Action Contre
la Faim, Médecins sans Frontières (Belgium), and Tzu Chi are providing assistance.
The Government of the Netherlands, United States, Canada, and Spain, as well as the
European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) have also indicated
that they will support the response.
The Government of Indonesia continues to mobilize its resources at the national and
local levels. At this point, international assistance is not requested, but the
Government welcomes the current efforts underway from international actors already
on the ground. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)
team, on stand by since yesterday, has now been alerted that its services will not be
required.
For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367
5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262;
Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA
press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int. |
