Indonesia: Earthquake OCHA Situation Report No. 1

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2006/0083
OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Indonesia - Earthquake

This report is based on information received from the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator's Office in Jakarta, Indonesia, and OCHA staff members fielded in Yogyakarta.

I. SITUATION

1. An earthquake measuring 5.9 on Richter scale struck Yogyakarta Province on 27 May, at 5:53 AM local time. The epicentre was approximately 37.2 km south of Yogyakarta at a depth of 33 kilometres. The most affected districts are Bantul and Kulonprogo to the south of Yogyakarta. Currently the impact of the earthquake is as follows: 2,500 people are reported killed, 1,500 seriously injured and 4,000 houses destroyed.

2. The electricity is down and the airport in Yogyakarta is closed. The telephone lines were down for several hours immediately after the earthquake. Media reported that tremors were also felt in several cities in Semarang, Central Java Province, and slightly damaged some houses in Ngawi, Madiun, Trenggalek, Kediri, Magetan, and Pacitan in East Java Province.

II. NATIONAL RESPONSES

3. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited to Yogyakarta today together with the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Ministers of Social Affairs and Health, and BAKORNAS PB.

4. The Department of Health deployed medical teams today. In coordination with a rapid response team from the Health Department Branch in Surabaya, seven medical teams were fielded.

5. The Department of Social Affairs has been preparing a rapid response team to join Health Office in Yogyakarta for evacuation. They have set up emergency tents, operated public kitchens in coordination with local government and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies(IFRC)/PMI. They have sent 5,000 canned food, 5,000 bottles ketchup, 5,000 bottles of chilli, 5,000 liters cooking oil, 5,000 blankets, 5,000 sarongs, 10,000 clothing, 50 units tents, 200 folding beds, five generators, seven units of field kitchen, and 5,000 mats.

6. PMI/IFRC Yogyakarta is carrying out an assessment of the situation. PMI is sending mobile clinics to the affected areas. Field hospitals will be established next to the crowded hospitals. IFRC has received a request for 1,000 family tents that they are mobilizing. All PMI/IFRC medical teams have been mobilized from the evacuation sites near Mt. Merapi to respond to this emergency.

III. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

7. OCHA Indonesia has a team of two staff members on the ground who are assessing the situation, assisting local authorities (SATKORLAK and SATLAK) in establishing coordination structures and information centers, and advising on urgent humanitarian needs. OCHA team met with THE Governor of Yogyakarta and was informed that medical teams and supplies were needed at initial stage to treat the injured.

8. UN Disaster Management Team in Jakarta has met in the afternoon, chaired by UNRC a.i. Mr. Bernard Coquelin, to discuss the situation, with an extensive teleconference with the OCHA team in Bantul district.

9. The following updates were provided at the UNDMT meeting:

- OCHA has established an information center within the Government Office in Bantul - A reception center to be established in Yogyakarta

- No need to Search and Rescue (SAR) teams as yet

- 10 IDP camps/concentration points established in Bantul district

- An Inter-Agency mission comprising representatives from UN agencies and NGOs to the area on 28 May. The mission will travel by road at 10:00 AM from Minara Thamrin. The mission will conduct a rapid needs assessment and help with coordination, information management, etc. The team will be lead by WFP and includes representatives from UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, CARE and OCHA on the ground.

10. In Aceh, an emergency meeting was convened at the UN Office for the Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias, attended by 23 UN agencies and humanitarian partners, to ensure a coordinated response and to inform agencies of the possible UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight. A number of NGOs based in Aceh already despatched medical teams (IMC, Merlin) by commercial flights.

11. The UNHAS Dash-7 will depart from Aceh on 28 May with NGO personnel (Islamic Relief, Merlin, IRC, Mercy Malaysia, IMC and BRR), including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and it will include some 2 tonnes of medical supplies provided by Merlin. The airplane will arrive in Solo (closest available airport to Yogyakarta) on 28 May in the afternoon.

12. WHO deployed one staff member to Yogyakarta and sent six emergency kits, six basic kits, six surgical kits, and medical supplies, and provided mobile clinic and five operational transportation vehicles. They will add ten more basic kits and two surgical kits.

13. OCHA has placed an UNDAC team, consisting of one UNDAC member each from China, Malaysia and Singapore with 2 OCHA staff members, on stand-by.

14. OCHA is in close contact with the UN HC/RC Office in Jakarta, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok and will revert with further information as it becomes available. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.

MAP: Indonesia: Earthquake - Situation map No. 1

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