SILVER SPRING, Md.--In Indonesia's West Sumatra Province, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to provide aid to survivors of a deadly earthquake that struck off the Sumatra coast in late September killing more than a thousand people and displacing thousands more, the agency reports.
ADRA's initial response after the disaster was originally targeted to benefit an estimated 1,000 families., but has since been expanded to assist up to 3,000 households, distributing 2,000 emergency shelter kits in Sungau Geringgin sub-district in Padang Pariaman, and 1,000 non-food items in the sub-districts of Sungai Sapih and Nangallo, in Padang City.
In addition, ADRA has distributed 500 emergency kits for affected families within the Kota Padang region, as well as 1,000 emergency shelter kits in the Padang Pariaman District.
An ADRA medical team dispatched on October 7 has also completed its response, providing urgently needed medical care to more than 700 survivors in Padang Pariaman District.
To date, ADRA's network response has been supported by the financial assistance of ADRA Australia, ADRA Denmark, ADRA United Kingdom, ADRA Finland, ADRA Canada, ADRA France, ADRA Netherlands, ADRA New Zealand, ADRA Norway, and ADRA Sweden.
ADRA is also coordinating with the local government and other partners to distribute other essential items, such as sleeping bags and flashlights. ADRA is preparing to launch new interventions that target both the short-term and long-term needs of survivors, including a new project funded by ADRA Japan that will meet the educational needs of affected schoolchildren, and a project funded by ADRA Spain that will provide additional temporary shelter and non-food items materials for survivors, and provide psychological counseling to help those dealing with the emotional trauma of the disaster.
ADRA is partnering with other entities, including Global Medics, and the local government offices within the sub-districts targeted by ADRA's ongoing response.
The 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Padang in the province of West Sumatra on Wednesday, September 30. Early Thursday morning, another earthquake struck Jambi Province in Sumatra.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), families who have not received emergency shelter supplies are living in makeshift homes or reside in landslide-prone areas. An estimated 1,117 people have been confirmed dead. More than 114,000 homes have suffered severe damage.
The areas in and around the cities of Padang and Pariaman remain the most affected by the disaster.
As response efforts expand, follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.
To send your contribution to ADRA's Emergency Response Fund, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org.
ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.
For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An aerial view of peatland areas bordered by rainforest (bottom) in Indonesia's Riau province, November 9, 2009. An Indonesia-based study is showing carbon-rich tropical peatlands trap more greenhouse gases than first ...
