ACT News Update: Indonesia: Relief supplies on their way to Nias
30 Mar 2005 15:30:00 GMT
Source: NGO latest
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Action by Churches Together (ACT) - Switzerland
Website: http://www.act-intl.org
Geneva, March 30, 2005--Members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International in Indonesia, responding to the powerful earthquake that struck Monday off the west coast of the country, are beginning to send shipments of relief supplies to the affected areas today. However, access to the island of Nias, hardest hit by the quake, is still difficult as is transportation on the island.
YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) has prepared a shipment of relief items that arrived in Sibolga this afternoon (Wednesday). The shipment will be sent by boat tomorrow on a nine-hour voyage to the port of Gunungsitoli on Nias’s east coast. The supplies in the shipment include 20 boxes of medical supplies, medical equipment, food, tents, bathing kits, women’s sanitary supplies and two generator units.
A YEU medical team has also been providing services for 520 patients in eight locations in Gunungsitoli. The team expects two motor bikes and other equipment for its operation to arrive from Medan in the coming days, which will enable it to be more mobile.
Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB) was expected to purchase relief supplies in Sibolga today and deliver them to Nias by helicopter as soon as one became available. If one is not available, the supplies will be sent to Nias by boat. YTB’s partner, BPB Nias, has provided three tents for displaced people staying at the Institute of Theology in Gunungsitoli. Two YTB staff members have arrived in Gunungsitoli and are helping to evacuate survivors of the quake.
Church World Service Indonesia (CWS) has prepared 35 boxes of medicines, 14 boxes of gloves, 500 tents and 1,000 packages of non-food items at the ACT warehouse in Medan. These supplies will be sent to Nias tomorrow on a U.N. helicopter along with a water-purification unit and other related equipment prepared by CWS and Norwegian Church Aid, another ACT member. Two CWS staff members will also be sent to Nias to assess the needs of survivors.
The ACT coordination office in Jakarta, which was set up following the December 26 tsunami, reports that 85 percent of buildings in Gunungsitoli were damaged. It is estimated that more than 300 people in Gunungsitoli died and that more than 500 people on the entire island of Nias have died.
The ACT office in Jakarta also reports that people forced from their homes are staying in at least ten different locations on Nias. It is reported that damage and casualties occurred in other areas of Aceh and North Sumatera. Banyak Island and Aceh Singkil were hit severely.
The army, police and survivors are still trying to evacuate people from under the ruins of buildings and houses. This is made harder as there is no heavy lifting equipment available. It is estimated that there are still 1,000 people, dead or alive, trapped under ruins. Smaller earthquakes are still occurring every few hours, which is hampering the evacuation efforts.
In Gunungsitoli, electricity and land-line telephones are totally out. Some cellular phones can be used, but there is no electricity to recharge them. The food and drinking-water supply is very low, and no stores or markets are open, with most stores having sustained damage. Food and other supplies can be purchased in Sibolga (North Sumatera) but at higher prices than normal.
The Nias airport is now functioning again, but only for small planes. There are still no regular flights or ferries to Nias. Traveling on the roads between the major sites on Nias is easiest by motor bike, but gasoline is scarce.
On Tuesday, the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva approved the allocation of US$500,000 to relief efforts related to the latest disaster. These funds were reallocated from donations given for the response to the tsunami in Indonesia. ACT’s response to Monday’s earthquake is part of ACT Appeal ASRE51 – Asia Earthquake and Tsunamis. Due to the programmatic and budgetary changes that have occurred in the Indonesian members’ plans, a revision of the appeal is expected soon.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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