USD 2 million for flood relief in Aceh, Indonesia

(New York, 24 December 2006): In response to flash floods that swept over the province of Aceh in Indonesia on 21 and 22 December, the United Nations today announced that it would allocate an initial amount of USD 2 million in grant money from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The floods have displaced an estimated 170,000 people in some 160 villages, primarily in Lhokseumawe and North Aceh. Many of those affected are staying in tents or in public buildings.

"The CERF was established precisely to ensure this kind of rapid response to urgent needs," said Margareta Wahlstrom, United Nations Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator. "That is why its replenishment is so crucial each year," she added. As of 14 December, donors had pledged some USD 344 million to the Fund for 2007, with the United Kingdom in the lead with a pledge of USD 83 million. Donors to the Fund encompass several disaster-prone countries, including Indonesia.

Roads leading to many of the affected areas are reportedly blocked due to both flooding and landslides, which are making access difficult. Air access has also been problematic due to a lack of landing spots. The Provincial Government has asked the UN system to help coordinate and provide humanitarian assistance to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the local government has responded with initial emergency aid to the flood affected areas, while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is also involved. Although no comprehensive damage assessment is yet available, a UN helicopter conducted an aerial assessment of Lhokseumawe yesterday.

While a consolidated plan for the distribution of relief items is being prepared by the United Nations in Indonesia, UN agencies have already started providing assistance with resources from their ongoing programmes, which will need to be replenished. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has 15,000 tarpaulins, and other stocks of non-food items in Aceh and in Medan that could be mobilized, and the World Food Programme can release sufficient ready-to-eat food for one to two weeks from its current operations. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has 1,680 family tents, 1,300 hygiene kits, 100 individual kits for childbearing women, and 8 sets of reproductive health kits that could be mobilized from 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.