OCHA Situation Report No. 4
Indonesia Earthquake
2 April 2005


Please also refer to Indonesian Earthquakes Field Situation Reports of 1 
and 2 April posted on ReliefWeb.

LOCATION AND AFFECTED AREAS

An earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale (according to the USGS) 
struck the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island Monday 28 March 
2005, at 23.09 (local Jakarta time) / 16.09 (UTC). Numerous aftershocks 
have been reported in the Simeulue and Nias region since.

SITUATION

Effects on Population

Estimated figures, which are expected to rise following assessment 
results

|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|
|            |    Deaths    | Injured |  Displaced   | Damage  |
|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|
|    Nias    |    1,300     |         |200,000 (WFP) | 25-30%  |
|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|
|  Simeulue  |  100 (WHO)   |   177   | 50,000 (WFP) | 60-80%  |
|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|
|   Banyak   |   200-300    |         |    1,500     |         |
|  Islands   | (Indonesian  |         | (Indonesian  |         |
|            | authorities) |         | authorities) |         |
|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|
| West Coast |      9       |         |    16,000    |         |
|------------+--------------+---------+--------------+---------|


Update

According to media reports (AFP and Reuters) an Australian helicopter, 
the 'Sikorsky Sea King', attached to the Australian medical ship 
'Kanimbla' went down near the town of Gunung Sitoli, the capital of Nias 
today, shortly after 7:30 p.m Australian eastern time (0930 GMT).

The helicopter was transporting an emergency medical team to a remote 
village as part of relief efforts. Reports indicate that 9 Australian 
military personnel (7 men and 2 women), part of an 11-member team, are 
missing, presumed dead. The Kanimbla had been returning to Australia 
when it was directed back to Indonesia to provide relief after Monday's 
earthquake.

Nias Island

The situation in Nias remains critical with bad weather hampering the 
arrival and distribution of relief aid. The aftershocks are continuing 
and people are unable to return to their homes. Bad weather has hampered 
the distribution of relief aid, and landslides have blocked the road 
from Nias airport (Binaka) to Gunung Sitoli town. Indonesia has deployed 
3 war ships, 4 helicopters, 2 airplanes and a battalion of troops for 
assistance in Nias.

WFP has transported 156 seriously injured people to Sibolga in the last 
five days. Medical evacuations transfer patients to Sibolga hospital, 
but the hospital has indicated that it does not have the capacity to 
admit more patients. Patients will now need to be sent to Medan.

Nias' main hospital is not functioning well due to the lack of power and 
water. Fuel supply for generators and vehicles is reported to be running 
low. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Indonesian army have 
dispatched medical teams to help re-establish services, and BAKORNAS 
MEDAN sent a team of surgeons and an MOH Assessment Team to Nias on 31 
March. According to WHO, there are 11 medical NGOs present with a total 
of 23 doctors and 26 nurses.

Ten members of MERCY Malaysia's (NGO) combined surgical and emergency 
team arrived on Nias on 31March. The team has divided into two with one 
surgical team operating out of the hospital in Gunung Sitoli. The second 
team has evacuated four patients out of Lahewa on 2 April and has 
started to operate out of a church compound. The Lahewa team reports 
extremely limited medical facilities and support, and many people 
requiring medical attention.

The food situation is considered to be serious. The first consignment of 
300MT of food for emergency relief distribution arrived in Nias on 1 
April. The food will serve the needs of 20,000 people for one month. 
Severely damaged and narrow roads outside the urban areas will be a 
challenge when delivering food to the affected population.


REQUIREMENTS

Electricity is not completely restored and generators are required. 
Please refer to OCHA reports from Indonesia.


COORDINATION AND OPERATIONS

OCHA is deploying an UNDAC Team (United Nations Disaster Assessment and 
Coordination) to reinforce coordination mechanisms.

A reconnaissance flight was made of Nias to identify other berthing 
locations for landing craft. Jet fuel has been stored at Sibolga airport 
with the capacity to conduct 8-10 deliveries per day by large cargo 
plane.


INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE

The Government of Indonesia has not issued a formal request for 
international assistance but has welcomed the support, both medical and 
logistical, provided by countries on a bilateral basis and by foreign 
military forces. The Government has asked that countries considering 
providing assistance approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
BAKORNAS in Jakarta in the first instance.

- On 30 March, the Government of Japan dispatched the 11-member Japan 
Disaster Relief Medical Team for 14 days to the affected area. Emergency 
assistance in-kind will be given in the form of 50 sets of tents (for 6 
persons), 1,000 blankets, 300 sleeping mats and 20 generators, with 
transportation supported by Japan.

- The Government of Singapore has sent a humanitarian assistance team to 
Nias Island comprising 3 Chinook helicopters, a Singapore Armed Forces 
(SAF) medical team and a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Disaster, 
Assistance and Rescue Team (DART). The 3 Chinook helicopters will 
support Indonesia's transportation needs and carry out medical 
evacuation in the disaster area. The SAF medical team and the SCDF DART 
team will be joined by representatives from the Singapore Red Cross and 
Mercy Relief and will work together with Indonesian agencies on the 
ground. The SAF will also deploy a C-130 transport plane to ferry 
additional personnel and relief supplies.

- The Government of the Philippines will dispatch a 16-member medical 
team to the earthquake-affected area. The team will determine the health 
needs of the victims as well as ensure the supply of safe potable water, 
set up proper waste disposal and implement food safety measures.

- Two C130s provided by the Government of Australia, containing 30 
pallets of non-food items including medical supplies, tarps, water 
purification tablets and containers, were scheduled to arrive by the end 
of the day on 1 April 2005. Australia has dispatched 3 RAAF planes, the 
medical ship HMAS Kanimbla, and two Sea King Helicopters.

- The Russian Federation has deployed an IL76 with medical teams and a 
field hospital, which was expected to arrive in Medan on 1 April 2005.

- The US navy has sent a hospital ship (USNS Mercy and a supply ship 
(USNS Niagara Falls) expected to arrive by 3 April.

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For coordination purposes, donors are requested to inform OCHA-Geneva Desk
Officers, as indicated below, of bilateral relief
missions/pledges/contributions and their corresponding value by item.

Together with further information on other ongoing emergencies, this
situation report is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int.

Aid agencies are encouraged to use the Virtual On-Site Operations
Coordination Centre (OSOCC) at http://www.reliefweb.int to share
information on assistance and coordinate activities.


Telephone: +41-22-917 1234
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23/06 28
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only:Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
   Ms. Marie Spaak/Ms. Rebecca Richards
     Direct Tel. 41-22-917 1728/3183

Press contact:
   GVA - Ms. Elisabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53
   NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. +1-917 367 51 26
   NYC - Mr. Brian Grogan, direct Tel. +1-212-963 11 43


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