Relief for earthquake-hit Indonesia

Plan sets initial budget of US$1 million to support thousands of people affected by two earthquakes on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Plan is distributing shelter kits, non-food items and hygiene kits through local partners in the city. The hygiene kits include blankets, soaps, mosquito nets, plastic mats and buckets. The second phase will focus on providing affected children with education and psychosocial support.

Safety of children top concern

Plan’s director of disasters and humanitarian response, Roger Yates, said: “Our priority right now is to meet the needs of the many children and their families affected by the two earthquakes. Plan is especially concerned for the safety of children who have been displaced from their homes.

“Plan staff have learned many lessons from previous disasters such as the Niaz earthquake and the Boxing Day tsunami. We are now putting these valuable lessons into practice by quickly sending initial support while coordinating with other organizations to collect the detailed information needed for a full response.”

Massive rescue operation underway

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands made homeless after successive earthquakes of 7.6 and 6.6 magnitudes struck near the coastal city of Padang within 48 days of each other this week. But officials say this figure is expected to rise as more people are pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

A massive rescue operation is under way after the first earthquake, thought to be one of the biggest to hit Indonesia in recent years, devastated the area. The roof of the city’s airport was brought down, as well as hotels, schools and houses. Power lines were cut and there were reports of landslides. The earthquake was so strong that people reported that shaking could be felt in high buildings in the capital, Jakarta, and in Singapore and Malaysia.

Thursday's earthquake of 6.6 brought further suffering to people still reeling from the previous quake.