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Indonesia

American Jewish World Service responds to May 27 Indonesian earthquake

Yogyakarta, Indonesia, May 28, 2006- A major earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck the densely populated city of Yogyakarta at 5:45 am Saturday, May 27. Current death estimates are now at 4,600 and rising. An additional 20,000 people are injured and 200,000 people are now homeless. This is the first disaster to strike Indonesia since the 2004 tsnumai.
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) will be working in conjunction with our 14 local non-governmental partner organizations and with several larger international relief organizations to give immediate aid to the victims and then to help develop more long term planning to create sustainable mechanisms for survival and reconstruction. AJWS is currently asking for donations.

Indonesian media is reporting that there is currently not enough aid to handle the scope of the emergency. A shortage of ambulances caused many to be ferried and bussed to hospitals, with some even making the journey by foot. After several aftershocks, many hospitals are moving their patients outdoors and citizens are sleeping outside of mosques and churches as buildings continue to crumble.

Yogyakarta lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region in the Pacific Ocean particularly prone to earthquakes and volcanoes. The Mt. Merapi volcano, 100 miles northeast of Yogyakarta, has been emitting gas and ash in the past several weeks and officials speculate that the quake has increased the chance of eruption.

AJWS supports approximately 60 organizations in Southeast Asia that have been rebuilding since the tsunami, several of which will respond to this most recent earthquake. AJWS will also identify and support international aid organizations and other local, community-based organizations in the region that can deliver emergency aid, such as water, medicine and shelter.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) helps people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas move beyond poverty, illiteracy, disaster, and war. An international development organization engaged in strategic grant making, volunteer service and educational and advocacy programs, AJWS supports over 250 development projects in 38 countries and provides emergency assistance when disasters strike. For more information, visit http://www.ajws.org.