US contact: Jeremy Barnicle, +1 503 367 7738 UK contact: Anna Clarkson, +44 (0) 7917 532954

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A team of Mercy Corps relief workers started assessing damage in the hard-hit town of Solok today following a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra last night. Mercy Corps, which runs a major children's health program in West Sumatra, is one of the only international relief agencies already working in the area.

Seventy people are reported dead and hundreds are reported displaced, but a Mercy Corps official warned that the full extent of the damage would not be known until tomorrow.

"The initial reports from our team are that there is significant infrastructure damage, but now night has fallen and our team will have to resume its assessment in the morning," said Craig Redmond, Mercy Corps' country director for Indonesia. "Based on what we conclude in the morning, we will deploy additional people and emergency supplies as the situation demands."

Through its Sumatra Healthy Schools Program, the agency is already serving more than 170,000 students and teachers at schools on the island. Mercy Corps provides fortified soy milk, de-worming pills, and education about health, hygiene, and clean water in four Sumatran provinces.

Mercy Corps has extensive experience responding to the needs of vulnerable Indonesian families. For the past several years, our 525 in-country staff have helped more than 1,000,000 Indonesians affected by poverty, conflict and disaster.

The agency provided rapid relief to survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and continues to help over 423,000 tsunami survivors return to their home villages, rebuild their communities and establish strong, vibrant local economies.

How to Help: Online: www.mercycorps.org Phone: 1-800-852-2100 Mail: Mercy Corps, Indonesia Earthquake Fund Dept NR, PO Box 2669, Portland OR 97208

About Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $1 billion in assistance to people in 94 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ nearly 3,200 staff worldwide and reach more than 13.5 million people in nearly 40 countries. Over the past five years, more than 90 percent of the agency's resources have been allocated directly to programs that help people in need. For more information, visit www.mercycorps.org.