REPORTS INDICATE IMPACT MORE WIDE-SPREAD THAN INITIALLY THOUGHT
September 13, 2007, Jakarta, Indonesia Â- On this first day of Ramadan, daylight hours and working phone lines shed light on the far-reaching impact of last night's earthquake at 7.9-magnitude which struck off the southern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has committed an initial $50,000 to the earthquake recovery effort.
"Between the earthquakes and aftershocks, the damage seems to be more widespread than initially thought Â- along the coast from Bengkulu, up to Jambi, and reaching as far as Padang. There's a lot of information we don't know about how this has affected people in the rural areas. We are concerned about the vulnerability in rural villages, where the houses are modest and less equipped to withstand massive impact," said CRS Indonesia Country Director Rich Balmadier.
The timing of this disaster at the start of Ramadan adds to the challenge of a recovery effort, which will involve many Indonesians working long days in tough conditions and on empty stomachs.
Today at least two of CRS Indonesia's emergency staff are leaving for Bengkulu from their bases in Jakarta and Yogyakarta to support partners in the affected areas; other CRS aid workers based in the tsunami-affected area of AcehÂin the northern tip of the Sumatra islandÂare standing by ready to be deployed.
CRS has long-standing partners in the quake zone that have staff rushing out to communities to gather information for a timely and efficient response. CRS manages programs from offices Jakarta, Kupang, Yogyakarta, Medan, Meulaboh and Banda Aceh, and has supported emergency and development programming in the country for 50 years.
Interviews are available with CRS staff on the ground:
Rich Balmadier, CRS Indonesia Country Director, at +62.816.18.6701 / rbalmadier@id.seaprocrs.org
Caroline Brennan, CRS Asia Regional Information Officer, +62.81.317.193.740 / cbrennan@crsindia.org
For U.S.-based interviews, contact Kat Burnside, CRS Senior Communications Officer, at Tel: 202-821-2663 /kburnsid@crs.org
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian organization of the U.S. Catholic Church, and provides support and relief in 98 countries and territories on the basis of need, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or nationality.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
