ASIA: EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMIS 11 January 2005 FOCUS ON FIELD ASSESSMENT AND COORDINATION IN INDONESIA The Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilising the power of humanity. It is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation and its millions of volunteers are active in over 181 countries. In Brief Revised Preliminary Appeal No. 28/2004; Operations Update no. 15; Period covered: 10-11 January 2005; Appeal coverage: 151.6% (Click here to view the provisional contributions list attached, also available on the Federation’s website). Appeal history: • Preliminary appeal launched on 26 December 2004 CHF 7,517,000 (USD 6,658,712 or EUR 4,852,932) for 6 months to assist 500,000 beneficiaries. • Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 1,000,000. • Revised Preliminary Appeal issued on 30 December 2004, for CHF 67,005,000 (USD 59,152,246 or EUR 53,439,988) for 2 million beneficiaries for 6-8 months. • The Preliminary Appeal was originally launched titled “Bay of Bengal: Earthquake and Tsunamis”. The title was subsequently changed to “Asia: Earthquake and Tsunamis” in the Revised Preliminary Appeal launched on 29 December 2004. For further information specifically related to this operation please contact: In Asia: • Indonesia: Ole J Hauge, Head of Delegation; phone: +622 1791 91 841; mobile: +628 11 824 859; fax: +622 1 79180 905; email: [email protected] and Latifur Rachman, Disaster Management Delegate; phone: +62.811.82.6624; fax: +62.217.18.0905 email: [email protected] • Thailand, Bangkok: Dr. Ian Wilderspin, Head of Disaster Risk Management Unit, phone: +662.640.8211; fax: +662.661.8220; email: [email protected] and Bekele Geleta, Head of Regional Delegation; mobile: +66 18215495; email: [email protected] In Geneva: • Iain Logan, Head of Tsunami Operations Coordination, Geneva; +41.22.730.4258, email: [email protected] (also covering Sri Lanka). • Media Department, Sian Bowen, phone: + 41.22.730.4428; email: [email protected] • Logistics Department for mobilisation of relief items, Isabelle Sechaud, logistics officer, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4367; email: [email protected] (for logistics operational issues) and Armen Petrosyan, logistics officer, Geneva; phone: +41.22.730.4263; email: [email protected] (for mobilisation of goods) All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation’s website at http://www.ifrc.org. 0068E/08.03.04 Asia: Earthquake and Tsunamis; Revised Preliminary Appeal no. 28/2004; Operations Update no. 15 2 Focus on Field Assessment and Coordination in Indonesia Background The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck the area off the western coast of northern Sumatra Sunday morning, 26 December 2004, at 7:59 am local time (00:59 GMT) triggered massive tidal waves, or tsunamis, that swept into coastal villages and seaside resorts. The earthquake epicentre was located at 3.30 N, 95.78E at a depth of 10 kilometres (see map above). The area is historically prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the margins of tectonic plates, however tidal waves of this magnitude are rare, and therefore the level of preparedness was very low. Overview Latest estimated deaths are over 159,000 (this figure is now anticipated to rise to over 189,000), with over 24,000 missing. Some 2,200,000 people have been displaced while over 1,026,000 are believed to be homeless (please see the summary document available on the Federation’s Disaster Management Information System (DMIS), at https://www-secure.ifrc.org/dmis/response/dmi_respond.asp). These figures are still expected to increase. The Federation has deployed its full complement of disaster response tools in the form of Field Assessment and Coordination Teams (FACT) (refer to https://www-secure.ifrc.org/dmis/response/fact/dmi_fact.asp for details) and Emergency Response Units (ERUs) (refer to https://www-secure.ifrc.org/dmis/response/eru/dmi_eru.asp for details)in the sectors of water and sanitation, health care, aid distribution, telecommunications, and logistics/transportation, and their daily reports are now arriving, providing a valuable source of information for the ongoing Federation response, and operational adjustments. To date, about 200 technical delegates (62 in Sri Lanka, 121 in Indonesia and 9 in Maldives) from the Red Cross Red Crescent of more than 25 countries are working around the clock in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives to coordinate and deliver immediate relief assistances to the affected population. ICRC has a presence of 50 delegates and national staff in Indonesia and more than 340 delegates and national staff in Sri Lanka. A total of 47 relief flights have so far been coordinated with 15 more in the pipeline. FACT and ERU deployment in Indonesia The current operations update focusses on the work of FACT and ERU in Indonesia. 0068E/08.03.04 Asia: Earthquake and Tsunamis; Revised Preliminary Appeal no. 28/2004; Operations Update no. 15 3 Focus on Field Assessment and Coordination in Indonesia Focus on assessment in Indonesia The FACT health officer, together with a member of PMI, conducted an aerial and rapid ground assessment of Calang yesterday. The assessment was severely constrained by limited time on the ground and by poor weather conditions that delayed helicopter departure. Calang is located approximately 80 km north of Meulaboh. The town is situated on a small peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides; it was completely vulnerable during the disaster. The destruction is almost total, with a single building left standing. A number of smaller structures on higher ground about 1 km above Calang were not damaged by the tsunami. Approximately 80 percent of the population is believed to have perished. Survivors are gathered in small groups of 50 to 100 people clustered on the hills above Calang town along the road line. There are no discrete displacement camps, and an unknown number of people are situated in areas south of Calang and others are moving north towards Lam No. The Indonesian National Army (Tentera Nasional Indonesia/TNI) is present in Calang and there are two naval barges offshore maintaining a supply line. There are several small NGOs present, and a self-deployed group of PMI volunteers from Java. These groups are clustered in tents on flat ground by the shoreline and close to the helicopter landing zone. The Calang area is congested and dirty, there is no sanitation or water supply, no electricity and only limited health services provided. Some of this information is obtained from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), who are conducting a three-day health survey in this area. The FACT team visit was brief and the initial impression was that there are hundreds of affected people, rather than thousands, although many people may have been away from Calang in outlying villages or in the countryside searching for food. IRC suggests the actual figure of affected may be approximately 2,000 to 3,000. The general condition of people seen was fairly stable. Although conditions are very basic, there is limited shelter, water, food (rice and noodles) and there is access to basic health care. There have been small local distributions of clothing. The priority focus of action now is on urgent support to the PMI team on location, provision of water and sanitation, support to the existing health structure and delivery of non-food relief items. Areas to the south, notably Krung Sabe lying 9 km away, will be further assessed. According to TNI, there are 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and no assistance present. The IRC team is visiting that area today. The FACT team flew overhead and could see large groups of people congregating around several small buildings. The road back to Calang is completely destroyed and is flooded. The table below details the affected population by area as of 8 January 2005; no demographic breakdown is yet available. Location Population Missing Dead IDPs Aceh Jaya 87,624 23,530 4,120 34,079 Calang 7,300 5,700 320 8,095 Lok Kruet 18,320 1,500 0 10,277 Lagen 6,700 1,580 0 1,580 Krung Sabe 4,400 2,100 0 8,095 Panga 6,834 3,650 0 3,184 Teunom 18,350 3,000 0 7,200 (Note: These figures are estimates. Source: TNI POSKO) Disaster relief coordination is under control of TNI, set-up as a POSKO (coordination of disaster response) and located in a tent close to a helicopter landing zone. There were several sets of data presented and some conflicting figures as to actual numbers of IDPs. As yet there are no plans to relocate IDPs to a new camp. 0068E/08.03.04 Asia: Earthquake and Tsunamis; Revised Preliminary Appeal no. 28/2004; Operations Update no. 15 4 Focus on Field Assessment and Coordination in Indonesia Logistics Access to the area remains difficult, and is currently limited. By sea, the harbour is destroyed and there is no jetty. Currently there are small boats (20-MT capacity) that can travel from Banda Aceh to Calang in seven to eight hours. There is no forklift or offloading available. By air; there is no airstrip. Currently, helicopters are landing at a cleared area by the shoreline. There is significant helicopter traffic, notably from the US military. There is no road access to Calang. Fuel is scarce and controlled by TNI.