Temporary bamboo shelters for victims of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated West Sumatra on Sept. 30 are expected to be constructed in the coming weeks, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) says.
PMI secretary general Iyang Sukandar told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the organization had been conducting feasibility studies on technical and cultural aspects of the devastated areas.
"We will prioritize the worst affected areas, like Padang Pariaman, Padang Alai, Padang Tandikeh and Solok," he said while at a ceremony to receive US$500,000 from Inpex Corporation, a Japanese oil company.
He added that the location of the temporary shelters would be prioritized for areas suffering from the worst infrastructure damage.
Iyang said the bamboo shelters were considered better than the makeshift tents the victims had been occupying.
So far, the West Sumatra tremor has resulted in more than 800 confirmed fatalities. The death toll is expected to soar into the thousands once more missing bodies have been recovered. Before the quake, Padang's population totaled 668,972.
The earthquake damaged more than 200,000 houses and other buildings.
Iyang said the victims were living in makeshift tents occupied by between four and six people each.
Iyang said the PMI aims to build 10,000 shelters using donations it has received from third parties, including local companies and foreign agencies.
"The aid comes from Spain and France," he said.
As of Tuesday, the PMI has provided health services to 5.863 victims in the affected areas. Many victims are now suffering from diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, two communicable diseases that are threatening quake survivors.
Iyang said the devastated areas did not lack clean water resources, as city administrations and many social organizations had provided necessary assistance to the victims.
The director general for disease control and environmental health at the Health Ministry, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said last week that his ministry had delivered sufficient vaccine doses for tetanus and diarrhea, as well as chemicals such as chlorine and alum to provide potable water to victims who had no access to clean water for days following the disaster.
PMI data shows that it has channeled 72,000 liters of clean water per day to 3,000 victims, while another 23,000 liters of clean water was sent to hospitals.
"We are preparing 17 clean water distribution centers," Iyang said.
He said the main problem now was transportation as many roads and bridges were shattered.
Regarding transportation problems, Iyang said that the PMI was working with the Transportation Ministry to distribute the aid to the victims by helicopters, with the assistance of 100 volunteers.
He said the PMI had also supplied blood to ensure stocks following the increasing demand for surgeries.
"We always provide an additional 100 bags of blood for 21 days, as blood can no longer be transferred to other people after being stored for more than three weeks," he said,
"Four bags contain one liter of blood."
Meanwhile, the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is scaling up its relief operations in West Sumatra and other disaster-stricken provinces.
"This includes the launch of a series of emergency food distribution programs and the use of helicopters to shuttle food and shelter supplies to families living in isolated villages that have been cut off by landslides in the province and Jambi," the IFRC said in a press release.
The relief was distributed by local Red Cross volunteers and PMI medical workers.
AP reported on Wednesday that hundreds of people buried by landslides in Indonesia two weeks ago have been registered as dead, raising the death toll from last month's earthquake to 1,115.
Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said that the search for 300 missing people has ended and that they have been declared dead. (nia)
