Photo courtesy of IOM volunteer George Young 2009©

IOM will today start to move 1,000 tonnes of rice to meet food shortages in Pariaman district, where landslides buried three villages in the September 30th West Sumatra earthquake.

The distribution, in response to a request from the Indonesian government, will use 25 of IOM’s West Sumatra fleet of 60 trucks, which together with a second fleet of 27 light vehicles, now operates from IOM’s Padang logistics hub.

The hub provides free trucking services for government and agencies donating aid and coordinates the complex logistics operation required to manage incoming aid, warehouse it and ensure its efficient distribution to those most in need.

Conditions in the provincial capital, where IOM now has 20 emergency response staff, have improved, electricity has been restored and petrol stations have re-opened, according to IOM public information officer Jihan Labetubun.  But the full extent of the damage and the needs of thousands made homeless by the quake remain unclear.

Search and rescue teams and volunteers from Bung Hatta University are conducting IOM needs assessments in Pariaman and Agam districts.  IOM is also working closely with the Indonesian National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) in both districts to deliver tents, food and generators to survivors.

In Tanjung Raya and Sungai townships, IOM is working with local government and NGOs, including Oxfam, to help displaced families now living in temporary camps.

IOM is also procuring 3,500 individual toolkits and 700 community toolkits – each of which serves five families - to help survivors rebuild their homes ahead of the upcoming monsoon rains. The kits – together with tarpaulins, hygiene kits, cooking and cleaning equipment, jerry cans, buckets, stoves and blankets – will be funded from a EUR 924,000 donation from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO.)

Government estimates suggest that at least 135,000 houses were severely damaged by the quake, together with numerous health facilities, roads, bridges and public buildings.

IOM is working closely with the BNPB, the West Sumatra emergency response agency (SATKORLAK), the local authorities and partner agencies to deliver an effective and coordinated response to the disaster.

IOM's emergency response capacity in Sumatra dates back to the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 Nias earthquake. In March 2007 it established an office in Padang following the Solok earthquake.