UN on stand-by to assist Indonesia after Sumatra quake

(New York: 6 March 2007): A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (UNDAC) has been placed on stand-by following the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that hit Indonesia's West Sumatra Province today at 10:49 a.m., local time. According to current information, between 70 and 100 people have been reported killed and 76 injured. A second earthquake occurred in the same vicinity at 12:49 p.m.

As a first response, an inter-agency team out of Jakarta and Aceh comprising staff from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) is scheduled to arrive in the area tomorrow.

"The Government of Indonesia and the Indonesian Red Cross Society have impressive capacity in disaster response," said United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes. "However, experience from past earthquakes in the region in which numbers of deaths and injuries have risen rapidly means we are wary in case the impact of the earthquake is more serious than initial reports suggest," he added.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 16 kilometres southwest of Batusangkar, Tanah Datar District, and 50 kilometres north northeast of Padang, the capital city of West Sumatera Province. The depth of the earthquake was 30 kilometres. The tremor was felt in surrounding areas such as Solok District (located approximately 64 kilometres northeast of Padang) and as far away as Singapore. Solok District is apparently the worst affected district.

Preliminary contacts with local authorities indicate that hundreds of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Some schools and government offices were closed early in anticipation of subsequent earthquakes. Electricity in the affected areas remains disrupted.

Local Indonesian search and rescue teams have been deployed. Two staff from National Natural Disaster Management Coordinating Board (BAKORNAS) also left for the area today. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed armed forces and police to mobilize personnel and heavy equipment, and has asked the Department of Social Affairs and the Coordinating Ministry of People's Welfare to provide food and medicine. The armed forces have set up field kitchens, health services and field tents, as well as a field hospital in Solok District to assist affected persons, and have deployed two teams of troops to provide emergency response assistance. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has also mobilized a Disaster Response Team to establish communications and work in close coordination with local officials.

In addition to the UNDAC team, OCHA's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok has put three staff on stand-by for deployment if needed. The OCHA has also contacted the Indonesian Missions in New York and Geneva to offer assistance, and stands ready to make an emergency cash grant available to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Jakarta.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.