Indonesia: assisting tsunami victims
Following the tsunami that struck the centre of the Indonesian archipelago a few days ago, killing more than 800 people, HI is mobilising its teams to identify the needs of victims. With the support of local partners, the organisation will carry out an assessment in the Sulawesi region.
People drive past a washed up boat and collapsed buildings in Palu on October the 1st, 2018, after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area on September 28th. | © AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD
More than 800 people lost their lives and thousands need emergency assistance after an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and then a tsunami nearly 6 metres high struck the Sulawesi region.
"More than 15,000 people have been displaced in the city of Palu alone. They need immediate help," warns Florence Daunis, Director of Operations at HI.
HI’s Indonesian partners will travel to the area in order to assess the needs of affected people. "For the time being, electricity is still down in Dongala city and there is no running water. In addition to our initial response to meet the essential needs of displaced people, we expect to come across large numbers of injured people in need of urgent medical care and rehabilitation," she continued.
"HI's emergency teams are ready to be deployed in support of our partners in order to more accurately assess the rehabilitation needs of victims. It will also be important to offer psychosocial support. Psychosocial trauma is common in these types of disasters.”
HI has worked in the country since 2005, where it regularly provides support to victims of natural disasters. Its members organise disaster prevention workshops and workshops to improve community resilience.
©HI
