ACTED is sending an emergency evaluation team to Padang in Indonesia to assess the most urgent humanitarian needs following two powerful earthquakes which stroke the island of Sumatra Wednesday September 30th and Thursday October 1rst.

The city of Padang, located on the West coast of the island, has been severely hit by an earthquake, magnitude 7.6. Over 770 people have been confirmed dead and nearly 2,400 injured, according to the latest official sources. But this first account is likely to change as thousands more are missing or trapped in rubble and many people are left outside, without any proper shelter or access to basic items, in the coastal town and its surroundings.

ACTED has been committed alongside the Indonesian populations following the tsunami of December 2004 after first working on emergency operations following the unprecedented crisis. Since 2005, our teams have implemented post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation projects for the populations of the island of Nias (located across Sumatra) heavily affected by an earthquake in 2005.

Relying on its presence in the region and on its experience with local populations, ACTED has set up an emergency team in charge of assessing the extent of the humanitarian crisis in Padang and to quickly identify the most pressing needs of affected populations, in order to set up emergency relief operations and to provide people in need with shelters and improved living conditions as soon as possible.

**Update** ACTED assessment team has just arrived in devastated Padang