Alert

West Papua, Indonesia - No. 1/2009

Earthquakes Shake West Papua

Geneva, 8 January 2009

A series of powerful tremors shook Manokwari, the capital of West Papua, on 4 January 2009, killing four people and destroying hundreds of buildings. One tremor of 7.3 on the Richter Scale, was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunami waves onto the south eastern coast of Japan, reported the Associated Press.

According to the Meteorological and Geophysical Office in Manokwari, the epicenter was 135 km northwest of Manokwari at a depth of 10 km. The Masni Sub-district government authorities report that five villages, respectively Sumberboga, Warori, Boisubur, Masni and Mancabori were severely affected. The local communities have been temporarily evacuated to Kenyem village, reported the UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs.

The earthquake also affected Sorong, Papua Barat. According to Metro TV shortly before the second earthquake hit Manokwari, a tremor shook Sorong causing the lights to go out and some unfinished buildings to crumble. Residents rushed into the streets fearing their homes would fall around them. Several people suffered from head and leg injuries and a number of people were hospitalised.

Impact

According to various reports at least four people have died as a result of the quakes while dozens of people have been injured. Some 265 buildings collapsed in Manokwari and approximately 600 buildings collapsed in Sorong. Hundreds of other buildings were damaged. Communication networks were also affected following the disaster.

The community in Manokwari evacuated to higher areas anticipating a tsunami immediately following the earthquake, reported ACT member Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTBI). People are still wary of returning to their homes and remain in emergency tents and in the streets.

YTBI also reports that aftershocks are still being felt. Additionally, close to 14,000 people have been displaced and still remain in tents and military barracks.

Some areas are still inaccessible due to damage to infrastructure.

National and international response

The following actions by the national government have been reported by the Indonesian television network, TV One:

- Four ministers have been dispatched to the earthquake location, respectively the Minister for Social Affairs, the Minister for Public Works, the Minister for Communication and the Minister for Health.

- The government has sent 12.5 tons of food assistance, as well as a team of medical doctors including specialists in orthopedics and internal medicine.

- The local Logistics Bureau has provided 50 to 100 tons of rice for the affected people.

- The District Coordination Units for Disaster Management (SATLAK) has conducted data collection of the evacuated people to ensure effective distribution of assistance.

So far there has been no request for humanitarian assistance to international agencies from the Indonesian government. However several international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have responded to the disaster situation, as follows:

- The UN Development Programme, UNICEF and ILO have conducted rapid assessments and a UN office in Jayapura has confirmed continued support to the local government.

- The Indonesian Red Cross and Medicins Sans Frontieres are planning to enter the disaster location.

- Catholic Relief Services and HOPE Worldwide are sending an assessment team for health, food, livelihood resilience and logistics to Manokwari.

- World Vision plans to distribute 100 plastic mats in Masni sub-district, Manokwari district, one of the locations near the epicenter.

- The UN Refugee Agency office in Jakarta continues to monitor the situation.

ACT International response:

ACT members YAKKUM Emergency Aid (YEU), Yayasan Tanggul Bencana Indonesia (YTBI) and Church World Service (CWS) are continuing coordination with humanitarian agencies in the affected areas.

YTBI is coordinating an advisory task force and is in contact with the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua (GKI), which is monitoring and providing updates on the situation.

YTBI has allocated Rp. 15,000,000 (US $1,350.00) for immediate humanitarian assistance through the GKI in Tanah Papua Church for distribution in Manokwari and Sorong.

Planned activities:

YTBI's emergency response team will continue coordination with YTBI partners in mobilising assistance through GKI in Manokwari and Sorong. The most urgently needed items at the moment are food, tents, blankets, water and sanitation, medical and psycho-social services.

YEU, YTBI and CWS will be issuing a joint request to the ACT Coordinating Office for support from the ACT Rapid Response Fund (RRF) within the next few days.

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

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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.