ReliefWeb, 09 Mar 2007
Indonesia: IOM deploys team to West Sumatra earthquake
Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
INDONESIA - IOM Deploys Team to West Sumatra Earthquake - IOM this week
deployed emergency operations and medical staff to West Sumatra, where an
earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale struck on Tuesday.
The IOM relief operation will be funded by the Dutch government, which yesterday
announced Euro 1.5 million in emergency relief for the area. The money, which will be
divided equally between IOM and the Red Cross, is earmarked for emergency goods,
medical aid and logistics to help the thousands displaced and injured by the quake.
IOM trucks are expected to start delivering relief goods to the area today following a
request from the West Sumatra authorities to set up a free delivery service and
database tracking system for arriving relief goods and their onward distribution.
The system will be similar to the logistics that IOM provided to national and
international aid agencies following the 2004 Aceh tsunami and the 2006 Yogyakarta
earthquake.
Initial deliveries will include relief goods donated by the United Arab Emirates and
1,000 tarpaulins, 5,000 blankets, 5,000 sleeping mats, 300 tents and clothing for
5,000 for men and women provided by IOM.
The quake, which left at least 52 people dead, damaged over 3,600 homes, schools
and public buildings, leaving thousands homeless. Hospitals in Solok, the worst
affected district some 95 kms north of Padang, have also been overwhelmed with
casualties.
IOM Indonesia Chief of Mission Steve Cook underlined the importance of a
coordinated response led by the Indonesian authorities. "The series of natural
disasters in Indonesia over the past two and a half years have taught IOM that strong
partnerships with government and donors built on trust are the key to a quick and
effective response," he said.
IOM West Sumatra Emergency Coordinator Jules Korsten, who arrived in the area
yesterday to coordinate with a UN inter-agency assessment team and donors, noted
that helping the Governor's office and the local emergency response authorities to
establish a relief logistics and coordination centre was an IOM priority.
An IOM doctor also travelled to Solok yesterday with the wife of Indonesian Vice
President Yusuf Kalla to assess the situation of health care facilities and treatment of
the injured, and to coordinate with the provincial health office.
Additional IOM medical staff are being deployed today and tomorrow to the area to
support a referral and medical evacuation system for the injured, as well as offering
assisted return to patients and their family members able and willing to go home from
crowded hospitals and clinics.
For more information, please contact Jules Korsten in West Sumatra. Email:
jkorsten@iom.int. Tel. +62.8121018819 or Paul Norton in Jakarta. Email:
pinorton@iom.int. Tel. +62.811895651. |
