Indonesia Relief Update - Dec. 28, 2004
Summary
The Indonesian Government on December 28 welcomed all U.S. and other international assistance for emergency relief following the December 26 earthquake and tsunami affected northern Sumatra. A lack of supplies and equipment is hampering GOI efforts to provide relief to victims of the December 26 earthquake. The Armed Forces are assisting with the distribution of aid. Some looting has taken place in Aceh, and concerns are mounting that unburied bodies could cause health problems. USAID has provided $100,000 to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and has over $3,000,000 of grant money and supplies in process to the PMI and NGOs.
Current Situation
A lack of supplies and equipment is hampering GOI efforts to provide relief to victims of the December 26 earthquake. The Armed Forces are assisting with the distribution of aid. Some looting has taken place in Aceh, and concerns are mounting that unburied bodies could cause health problems. AID has provided $100,000 to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and has over $3,000,000 of grant money and supplies in process to the PMI and NGOs. Some local estimates claim 30,000 homeless in three of Aceh's hardest-hit regions; the UN estimates 500,000 IDPs. BAKORNAS, the Indonesian Disaster Relief and Refugees Coordination Agency, has identified its most urgent needs as: electrical generators, fuel, potable water, body bags, communication equipment, vehicles, instant food, masks for field workers, flashlights, and batteries.
Newspapers featured startling photos of debris and death in front of the Banda Aceh mosque, a proud symbol of Acehnese civilization. Outside of the city lies a three-hectare field where corpses are placed for identification. There are some reports of looting, especially of scarce gasoline and heating oil. Concerns are mounting that the disorderly, unsanitary conditions, including many unburied bodies, could create an epidemic.
Reports from Meulaboh, South Aceh, confirm it is one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. Medan television showed scenes of destruction. Corpses lie unburied because of a lack of earth-moving equipment. BAKORNAS in its December 28 statement identified Meulaboh as an area of particular concern. The dead in South Aceh Regency number at least 500.
U.S. Government Assistance
AID has provided $100,000 from the Ambassador's emergency fund to the Indonesian Red Cross for immediate relief activities. AID is processing an additional $2,000,000 grant to the Indonesian Red Cross, with funds designated for water, sanitation, shelter, and health needs. AID will also provide another $1,000,000 to several NGOs for relief activities focusing on basic human needs and the distribution of small generators. With AID funding, CARE will provide 100,000 water treatment kits. AID has authorized the World Food Program to provide 500 tons of rice (worth $250,000) for immediate use in Aceh and North Sumatra, and AID is organizing a large shipment of plastic sheeting for temporary shelter.
Other Donor Assistance
The Government of Australia is sending five C-130 planes, with doctors, medicine, and other supplies. These C-130s will remain in Indonesia to help with distribution efforts. Australia's aid package totals 10 million Australian dollars (approximately US$7.8 million.) The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has announced the availability of 3 million Euros (approximately $4 million) for three-month emergency aid. The Government of Japan is organizing medical teams and the shipment of emergency relief supplies from stockpiles in Singapore. The governments of Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, and Malaysia are each sending a planeload of supplies (two planes from Malaysia); the Singaporeans also will provide helicopter support for relief efforts.
The JW Marriott on behalf of major hotels in Indonesia has contacted USAID; the hotels have collected donations of blankets, clothing, dry food, baby formula, and the like, and plan to coordinate with USAID-partner local NGO Partner "Nurani Dunia" to get it to Halim airfield for departure on a TNI C-130 the morning of December 29.
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