UN food agency continues relief efforts in tsunami-hit Indonesia

Over two weeks after a tsunami hit the southern Indonesian coast of Java, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its local partners are continuing to provide relief aid to thousands of people affected by the disaster, which has caused nearly 700 deaths.

The agency, which dispatched two truckloads of micronutrient-enriched biscuits and noodles to the region the day after the giant waves struck, is planning a one-month distribution of supplementary food aid to some 25,000 people in the six hardest-hit areas in and around Pangandaran.

More than 20 of the 68 tons of food that will be required for the whole operation has already been pre-positioned in temporary warehouses in the town, said the agency, which is working with the local Red Cross and the Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI).

WFP’s aid is intended to complement ongoing government and PMI distributions of rice, noodles, cooked vegetables and other commodities, most of which are being provided in the form of hot meals by PMI field kitchens.

Almost 700 people died when an undersea earthquake sent a six-metre high tsunami crashing into a 200 kilometre-long stretch of Java's southern coast on 17 July. Over two weeks later, up to 15,000 people are still homeless, according to WFP.

A further 10,000 are staying in IDP camps out of fear of another natural disaster; most recently, an earthquake shook the coast of Sulawesi on 23 July.