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Agency Sends Aid for Indonesia Earthquake
FrontLines - November 2009
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Villagers in Balai Senayan receive USAID hygiene kits distributed
in Pesisir Selantan district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, after the
Sept. 30 earthquake.
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USAID airlifted 45 metric
tons of emergency relief supplies
from its Dubai stockpile
to Indonesia after a 7.6-magnitude
earthquake struck about
30 miles off the coast of West
Sumatra Province Sept. 30.
The shipment of 340 rolls of
plastic sheeting, 6,720 hygiene
kits, 7,200 water containers,
and six generators—enough
supplies to help at least 20,000
people—was provided to the
Indonesian Red Cross for
distribution.
The USAID airlift followed
the Indonesian government’s
declaration of a state of emergency
Oct. 1. The Indonesian
government mobilized search
and rescue teams and medical
staff, and was distributing relief
items—including blankets,
tents, and food items.
USAID immediately
released $300,000 for the local
purchase and distribution of
emergency relief supplies by
Mercy Corps. In addition,
USAID reserved at least $3
million for relief efforts in
the days after the earthquake.
To augment the Indonesian
government’s relief efforts,
USAID sent an 11-member
Disaster Assistance Response
Team, or DART, Oct. 2 to coordinate
the U.S. government’s
response effort, support local
officials, assess humanitarian
conditions, and prioritize needs.
“Since 2003, USAID has
assisted local, regional, and
national disaster management
agencies in Indonesia and other
disaster-prone countries in
the region in organizing and
conducting training in medical
first response, collapsed
structure search and rescue, and
hospital preparedness for mass
casualties,” said Carol Chan,
the Agency’s acting director of
U.S. foreign disaster assistance.
“So we knew that Indonesia has
vast local capacity to respond
in the aftermath of this earthquake.
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A destroyed section of the polyclinic building at Dr. H. Djamil
Hospital, Padang, West Sumatra, Oct. 7
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The assistance we are
providing is in support of the
Indonesian government’s relief
efforts.”
At least 1,000 people died
and 4,000 were injured in the
quake, according to official
reports.
The earthquake caused significant
infrastructure damage
in Padang and Pariaman cities,
as well as Padang Pariaman and
Agam districts in West Sumatra
Province, according to the U.N.
Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Heavy rains and landslides
damaged structures and left
houses uninhabitable.
As of mid-October, the
earthquake damaged more than
265,000 houses, 105 health
facilities, 52 bridges, 131 irrigation
systems, and 81 markets,
according to OCHA.
The Indonesian government
said it would transition from
the emergency response phase
to rehabilitation and reconstruction
in the coming weeks.
USAID intends to continue
to work in support of those
efforts.
In total, USAID has provided
more than $5.2 million
to assist those affected by the
Sumatra quake. --A.A.M.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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