Notes from the Field | Everyone is suffering. Everyone is afraid.

Rate This Blog

0 rating(s)

Archives

• Current Entries
• May 2013
• April 2013
• March 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• July 2012
• June 2012
• May 2012
• April 2012
• March 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• July 2011
• June 2011
• May 2011
• April 2011
• March 2011
• January 2011
• November 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• November 2009
• October 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008

Latest Entries

Report This Blog

Notes from the Field

Search:

<< Prev | Main | Next >>

Everyone is suffering. Everyone is afraid.

Posted by: CARE on October 6, 2009 at 2:26PM EST

by Adjie Fachrurrazi, CARE emergency coordinator in Indonesia
October 5, 2009

It has been raining non-stop for the past six hours. Heavy, heavy rain.

People are traumatized. They are asking for help. Everyone is suffering. People say to me, "Don't count the number of destroyed houses. Count the number of houses still standing. It will be faster." In most villages I have seen, only 15 percent of houses are still standing. Some houses are totally flattened. The roof is flat on the ground. People lost everything. Their houses are destroyed, everything in them is destroyed. And everyone is afraid so those with houses will not go inside. There have been aftershocks over the past few days but today was mostly quiet. Everyone is afraid of another earthquake.

Disaster Strikes Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands

A series of natural disasters – including two typhoons, four earthquakes and a tsunami – recently hit Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. These disasters have devastated communities, killed and injured thousands of people and left millions homeless millions due to flooding and destruction.

CARE is on the ground in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia, assessing survivors' immediate needs and providing lifesaving aid, including clean water, food and temporary shelter. An estimated $15 million will be needed to provide humanitarian assistance in these hard-hit areas.

So people are sleeping outside, living outside. We are all wet. They have no shelter. Some people are sleeping under broken pieces of roof. Shelter is the main issue. People also need mosquito nets. They are sleeping outside, and with all this rain, there will be mosquitoes and malaria. Children are already starting to get sick. They need blankets, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for shelter.

***

People are drinking coconut juice, or river water. People in these village used to get their water from springs, but the pipes are broken. In Padang city, the municipal water is not running yet. The water from the river is not clean, and people don't have stoves to boil water. They need clean drinking water or there is going to be a rise in waterborne illness. We have supplies to help 5,000 people to start, but we need funds to help more.

***

There are many injured people and people still buried under buildings. It is very hard to reach the affected areas. Landslides have blocked roads and there is debris everywhere. Our team went out by motorbike today. We have 20 people on the emergency team, including staff from our local partner. This damage looks worse than the Yogyakarta quake in 2006.

It has been five days now. It's not clear how many people are affected yet. We don't have all the information from the rural areas. There are many dead bodies. And the smell is coming.

Send This | Categories: Aid, Asia, CARE, Children, Climate Change, Disaster, Disease, Earthquake, Emergency, Food, Health

(0) Comments