Ban Ki-moon offers aid after deadly quake hits Indonesia; team to arrive soon

Expressing his sadness at a deadly earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra today, killing up to 100 people and injuring over 70 others, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the world body’s offer of emergency help, while an inter-agency aid team prepared to fly out to the devastated area and specialized UN disaster officers were placed on stand-by.

“The United Nations has been in contact with the Government of Indonesia and stands ready to lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs created by the disaster, including by using existing resources and providing grants from emergency funds, and to mobilize international support for that response,” Mr. Ban said in a statement by his spokesperson, conveying condolences to the victims.

An inter-agency emergency team out of the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Aceh in northern Sumatra, comprising staff from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN World Food Programme (WFP), UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is scheduled to arrive in the area on Wednesday, OCHA said.

Separately, a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (UNDAC) has been placed on stand-by and staff from OCHA’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand are also ready to be deployed if needed.

“The Government of Indonesia and the Indonesian Red Cross Society have impressive capacity in disaster response,” said 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.”

Local Indonesian search and rescue teams have already been deployed to the site of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake, whose epicentre was 50 km from the capital of west Sumatra Province. Local authorities report that hundreds of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. The district of Solok is apparently the worst affected although the tremors, another followed the initial quake several hours later, were felt as far away as Singapore.

Indonesian 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 Indonesian Red Cross has also mobilized a Disaster Response Team to establish communications and work in close coordination with local officials.