Click here to Donate Now  

Sumatra Earthquake

Earthquake measuring 7.6 struck off the coast of Padang in West Sumatra on 30 September at 5.16 p.m.

The death toll from West Sumatra earthquake as at 2 October reached 1,115 . The Disaster Management Coordination Unit also said more than 2,000 people were injured in the disaster, Kompas.com reported. 863 people have been seriously injured, 1,356 people slightly injured. The government stopped the search for at least 210 people missing on October 13.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has indicated that the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase may commence before 1 November 2009. This phase will last about six months (April 2010), with a two year projection to rehabilitate all damaged facilities.

Damage to houses was widespread with 135,299 houses severely damaged, 52,206 moderately damaged, and another 57,510 lightly damaged, rendering homeless an estimated 250,000 families, many too frightened to return home.

198,200 households need emergency shelter according to The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). 

2,943 school classrooms in 204 schools were severely damaged by the earthquake affecting the education of approximately 90,000 students from preschool to upper secondary level. The chief of Padang Education Agency indicates that at least 662 school tents are needed to accommodate students returning to school.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has asked for an inter-cluster rapid needs assessment for the disaster affected area of Jambi Province which has still not received any international assistance. It says urgent needs include temporary shelter, school tents, and blankets.

In Agam District, road access has been restored to at least four isolated villages near Maninjau Lake, where an estimated 4,315 people live. Reports indicate electricity has not been restored and more tents are needed.

Only 20 percent of the population (778,000) in Padang city remains connected to the water distribution network. Priority needs identified by the cluster include the detection of leaks and repairing the network..

Electricity in the city of Padang has been restored to 100 percent capacity. Telecommunications infrastructure still requires repairs.

Complete villages were swept away by mudslides triggered by the earthquake. Heavy rains pose serious threats to communities living in earthquake-affected and landslide-prone areas. The steep terrain that characterizes West Sumatra is very susceptible to landslides during the rainy season, which is expected to last until February/March of next year.

Save the Children’s Response:

• Number of beneficiaries reached so far – 27,444 families or 132,835 people including 66,418 children
• To date the following have been distributed:
  • Shelter kits (plastic sheeting and tarpaulins) – 24,844
  • Hygiene kits – 25,335 kits
  • Household kits – 17,441 kits 
  15,016 households have been reached with all three kits.
• •  School tents erected - 81
  •  Education (activity) kits – 51
  •  Teacher kits – 51
  •  26 Child Friendly Spaces erected
• Children continue to beg for money on the side of the roads – due to the heavy amount of traffic and erratic driving this is considered extremely dangerous. To help this problem, Save the Children is now broadcasting a message five times a day for five days on six local radio stations. The broadcasts focus on ensuring the safety of children. It is calling on families and communities not to allow their children to beg on the streets as it is putting them at risk and hampering the relief efforts. 

Following on from field assessments it is our estimation that the geographic impact of this quake is less than previously expected, but in the areas that were affected that impact was more intense than first thought. Our current estimations are that 50% of the total population of these provinces has been directly or indirectly (taking in families etc) affected and that 80% of those living in the worst affected areas have been impacted. Our target is to provide assistance to 30% of the affected population. We hope to reach 150,000 people (30,000 households) through the provision of shelter, hygiene and NFI kits, education services and child protection programs.

Mike Penrose, Director Emergency Programs for Save the Children Australia is currently heading up relief operations in Indonesia following the earthquakes over the past week.  He is currently in Pariaman town, approximately one and a half hours north of Padang city.

“As I travel through the affected areas, the devastation is far worse than we could have imagined.  All the villages are badly affected.  I would estimate that more than 70% of buildings are damaged, and although they may not have collapsed completely, they are completely unsafe for habitation.  Just because they are standing doesn’t mean they are liveable.  The occupants can’t go back inside, they are living on the streets with their children.” 

Click here to Donate Now 

Blogs from the field
Read the blogs from Allison Zelkowitz and Ingrid Lund who are in Sumatra coordinating the emergency response

Case Study
Read the compelling story of Ratna and what she and he children have experienced after the earthquake in Sumatra