INDONESIA: Tsunami survivors still await assistance
BETU MONGA, 1 November 2010 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are still struggling to reach survivors one week after a tsunami struck Indonesia's southern Mentawai islands.
"It is so difficult to get to these people," Andrew Judge, the head of SurfAid International, which is working to assist the Indonesian Government and the UN in coordinating response efforts, told IRIN.
Storms and high seas over the past week have delayed the delivery of relief supplies, including tents, food and medical kits, to remote areas only accessible by boat, he said.
The Mentawais, a chain of about 70 islands and islets and home to some 68,000 inhabitants, was pummelled by a 3m-high tsuanami triggered by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of western Sumatra on 25 October.
According to the country's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), at least 450 people are now confirmed dead, with another 96 still missing.
Some 27 villages in coastal areas were destroyed, with widespread damage from waves that struck as far as 600m inland.
More than 700 homes were damaged or destroyed. Six schools, eight places of worship, seven bridges, two resorts, one ship and 8km of roads were damaged.
Almost 15,000 people are now living in emergency shelters, the agency reported on 31 October.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported an urgent need for medical personnel, equipment and supplies.
Health problems
While the number of people left homeless has yet to be properly assessed due to difficulties in communication and transport, survivors have already begun suffering from diarrhoea, asthma and complications from infections.
"In the areas hit by the tsunami, people are dying from infections," Judge said, adding that shelter, food and clean water remained major concerns.
Ade Edward, head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency in West Sumatra, said an assessment was ongoing but was being hampered by the weather.
As part of its response, SurfAid's Emergency Response team, with funding from the New Zealand government, has hired the largest boat in the Mentawai fleet, the Indies Trader IV, to continue operating in the worsening ocean conditions.
On 30 October, the boat travelled to the east coast of Pagai Utara District and the southwest and southeastern tip of Pagai Selatan District, carrying 2,000 large tarpaulins, 3,000 mosquito nets, 1,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 building kits, 1MT of rice, 24,000 packets of noodles and medical supplies, SurfAid said.
The boat will pick up SurfAid staff from Sikakap, the main town in Pagai Utara District from where aid operations are being mobilized, including medical teams.
The Indonesian Red Cross has deployed three helicopters to drop aid supplies and transport seriously injured survivors to Bengkulu and Padang on mainland Sumatra.
"The biggest problem has been a lack of telecommunication links and transport," said Aswi Reksaningtyas, a spokeswoman for the Indonesian Red Cross. Some 21 Red Cross officials were on the ground to conduct an assessment, but had not been able to report back, she said.
The Red Cross has delivered family tents and 500 body bags and was sending 500 baby kits and another 500 family tents.
"Our first priority is to establish clean environments for the survivors," she said.
Reaching the survivors
Edward said seven helicopters, one Hercules military cargo plane and a smaller aircraft airdropped aid supplies in seven areas in Pagai Utara and Sipora districts on 31 October.
"Assistance has reached all areas affected by the tsunami," Edward said, noting, however, that bad weather had been forecast until 4 October, making sea travel too risky.
"We have enough aid workers and supplies but they are confined to Sikakap. Our challenge is to get them delivered," he said.
Edward said he expected food aid would continue for one month.
"Villages have been destroyed and people are still too traumatized to work, so we will continue to deliver food supplies until the economy is back on its feet again," he explained.
Meanwhile, for those affected back on the islands, the wait for assistance continues.
"We have enough supplies of food and medicine, but these people have not changed their clothes for three days," Januar, head of a hamlet in Betu Monga village, one of the worst-affected areas, said. Survivors are in urgent need of clothes and blankets.
At least 100 people are now confirmed dead in Betu Monga, with 77 still missing, local officials say.
atp/ds/mw
Theme (s): Natural Disasters,
Copyright © IRIN 2010
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
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