Quake Death Toll Tops 5,400, World Rushes Aid to Indonesia

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, May 30, 2006 (ENS) - Food and blankets, medical supplies and water purification units are being rushed from around the world to the island of Java, Indonesia to help survivors of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck at dawn on Saturday.

The quake has claimed at least 5,427 lives, Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry said today. Entire villages have been reduced to rubble, and the death toll may rise as search crews find families still trapped in the ruins of their homes, officials said.

Most of the dead were located in the Bantul district, south of Yogyakarta, a city of some three million people that bore the brunt of the quake. In the Bantul district around 80 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The early morning earthquake left thousands of homes in rubble. (Photo courtesy EITB)

On Sunday night, it rained in Bantul. The assessment team says people are still sleeping in the open. Hospitals are treating people under tents in parking lots and on the hospital grounds.

Markets in Bantul and Klaten are still closed, so many people who lost their own food in the earthquake must rely on emergency food rations for survival.

Damaged roads, heavy storms and rain are complicating the relief effort, while water and electricity infrastructures have also been affected, making conditions difficult.

The Yogyakarta branch office of the Indonesian Red Cross was damaged by the quake, making it harder for the local Red Cross to deliver aid.

Mount Merapi, a volcano located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Yogyakarta, is also threatening to erupt. The earthquake also might have triggered additional seismic activity in Mount Merapi, considered to be the most dangerous of Indonesia’s 129 active volcanoes.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yuri Thamrin said Monday night that many countries and organizations have responded to the disaster with offers of cash aid, which totals US$47.7 million at this point.

Grieving survivors in Bantul (Photo courtesy WFP)

The Yogyakarta airport is still closed but the Indonesian government has given permits for foreign planes carrying relief supplies and paramedics to land in the quake zone.

Cargo planes from Singapore and Malaysia landed on Sunday. A United Nations plane carrying emergency supplies, including food, water and tents, landed on Monday at Solo, a town 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Yogyakarta.

Cargo planes also arrived from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was delayed Monday his tour of the refugee camps in Bantul by the distribution of relief supplies, which blocked the roads.

President Susilo, who has been in the quake-stricken areas since Saturday evening, has postponed his visits to North and South Korea planned for next week. Instead, he will remain in Indonesia to coordinate the relief work, said presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) left the UN Humanitarian Response Depot at Brindisi, Italy early this morning with seven metric tons of high-energy biscuits as well as 32 metric tons of blankets, tents, generators, gerry cans, water pumps and purification units from the Italian Development Cooperation organization. The plane is scheduled to arrive in Solo later today.

In total, by Monday night, three days after the quake struck, WFP had moved 70 metric tons of high-energy biscuits and 75 tons of noodles to the disaster area.

10 mobile warehouses to house the relief supplies are expected to arrive in the area today, on a TNT-chartered flight from Medan in Sumatra.

A volunteer with the Indonesian Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, Palang Merah Indonesia, prepares relief supplies for earthquake survivors. (Photo courtesy PMI)

"ERUs are an excellent example of how the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is able to use its unique network of National Societies to respond to crises both immediately and effectively," said Arnulv Torbjornsen, head of the International Federation's Delegation in Jakarta. "The units will also boost the capacity of the Indonesian Red Cross to respond to local needs."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said an emergency allocation of $500,000 for assistance to earthquake victims has been authorized by President George W. Bush. U.S. Agency for International Development personnel already are in Yogyakarta and the surrounding area "determining how this assistance can best be targeted."

The U.S. government, through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing emergency relief supplies worth $2.5 million to the stricken area, according to an announcement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.

Supplies include medical kits to serve the needs of 20,00 people for three months, 150 rolls of plastic sheeting, 10,000 jerricans and 5,000 hygiene kits. In addition, USAID’s Environmental Services Program is assessing water supply and sanitation facilities at hospitals and evacuation camps.

Mercy Corps has deployed experienced emergency staff to the area to determine needs and begin deliveries of shelter supplies like tarpaulins.

"Shelter is often one of the most urgent needs in the aftermath of a major natural disaster like this," said Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer. "Beyond shelter, we are prepared to expand our response as the situation on the ground develops."

Most of the homeless survivors are remaining near their residences in about 15 small camps.

“From our initial assessments, about 40 percent of the total number of displaced people are children, and 15 percent are under five years of age,” said UNICEF’s Emergency Relief Coordinator in Yogyakarta Edouard Beigbeder. “They require particular care due to their young age.”