Bengkulu, Indonesia - CARE International's emergency response workers have arrived in the area of Bengkulu, which was struck by a series of powerful earthquakes yesterday and today that measured as high as 7.9 on the Richter scale.
As part of the initial response, CARE is prepared to distribute water purification solution to help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
"After an earthquake of this size, the electricity and the water systems are the first infrastructure to be broken because of the severe shaking. If people don't have access to clean water, the first danger is outbreak of waterborne disease," said Adjie Fachrurrazi, CARE International's Emergency Team Leader in the earthquake-affected area. Mr. Fachrurrazi responded to last year's earthquake in Yogyakarta, and led CARE's emergency response to another deadly earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, earlier this year.
"CARE is preparing supplies of water purification solution to make sure people have access to clean, safe water. From CARE's experience in responding to emergencies in Indonesia, safe water is the best way to prevent the spread of disease after a disaster," he said.
Three areas in Bengkulu province have been heavily affected: Muko-muko District, Bengkulu Utara District and Bengkulu City. The city of Padang, which is still recovering from a 6.3 earthquake in March, 2007, has also reported heavy damage. The number of casualties and extent of the damage is expected to rise as more information comes in from hard-to-reach rural areas.
CARE is coordinating closely with government departments, NGOs, UN agencies and our local partners in the affected area to determine what the immediate requirements are on the ground and to coordinate our response. CARE, with 40 years of experience in Indonesia, has responded to several natural disasters in the country in the past few years, including the tsunami in Aceh in 2004 that killed more than 132,000 people.
For more information or to interview members of the emergency team in Bengkulu, please contact:
Wiwik Widyastuti
CARE Indonesia Communications Officer
Mobile: +62-812-108-2491
About CARE:
CARE is one of the world's leading humanitarian organisations, working together with the poorest communities to end poverty. CARE has been in Indonesia since 1967, and operates a broad range of integrated projects in disaster risk reduction, emergency response, environment and natural resource management, health, livelihoods and water and sanitation.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
