 The West coast of Sumatera is reeling from 2 consecutive earthquakes that struck over a 48-hour period. On Wednesday, the first quake measuring 7.6 on a Richter scale, struck at 17:15 local time, 57 km offshore, close to Padang Pariaman in west Sumatra province. The second quake, measuring 6.8, struck an inland area just 225 km southeast of Padang city. Click here to see a local film taken at the time the first quake occurred...
What’s the situation on the ground now?
The situation is really dire. International news and the UN are saying that over 1,300 people have died, while the local Indonesian Government have confirmed 529 deceased far, with thousands more still trapped under buildings ans landslides. The death toll will likely rise sharply with so many still trapped in collapsed buildings.
Response efforts are extremely overwhelmed, while people are still waiting for rescue, clean water, food and other supplies. Local hospitals have been damaged and are overwhelmed with patients, while stories about children still stuck in collapsed schools and other terrible tragedies are all over. See links to some news articles below.
International and local disaster response teams are en route to, or setting up response efforts in Padang, but logistics are very challenging and it will take time for them to get set up. Resources are thin and overwhelmed. The Indonesian military and local and international emergency workers and volunteers are searching for survivors and setting up aid distribution logistics.
What IDEP is doing?
IDEP is working with some local volunteers and our partners who were on site at the time of the disaster. They are doing search and rescue, rapid assessments of outlying areas and keeping local and international efforts coordinated with officials and agencies. One of IDEP’s key disaster education partners, KOGAMI, is based in Padang, and have been key actors in keeping all of the local efforts to help transparent and well coordinated.
Thanks to amazing support from Surfer Girl and The Surf Factory Outlet IDEP was able to send the highly experienced Bahari Rescue Team and their equipment to the disaster zone. An all purpose, heavy duty rescue truck is on its way to Padang by Military ship and scouts have been sent ahead to organize everything so the team can immediately start rescuing people as soon as they get there. Special thanks also goes out to Mira and Tanzen & Bali Buddha for making that flight possible!
We are also coordinating with the Yayasan Bumi Sehat team that is on their way from their clinic in Aceh to the disaster location. IDEP worked in close cooperation with Bumi Sehat when responding to the Tsunami in 2004/5 and has been running a busy community clinic in Aceh ever since.
We will be keeping interested people updated on progress and developments on the ground through updates like these and posts on IDEP’s new FaceBook page.
How you can help
 Send a contribution to IDEP’s bank in Bali:
Bank Name : BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia)
Bank Branch: Cabang Ubud, Bali
Bank Address : Jl. Raya Ubud, Bali - Indonesia
SWIFT Code : BNINIDJA DPS
Account Name : Yayasan IDEP
Account No : 0049400253 (Rupiah Donations)
Account No : 0049400264 (US$ Donations)
To learn more or to keep in touch with what IDEP is doing
 Follow IDEP’s Twitter Tweets
 Follow IDEP’s Progress responding to the Sumatera Quakes on Facebook
For more information have a look at any of the following links:
And thank you so much for any help you can provide spreading the word about this! |
