Deadly Earthquake Strikes Indonesia: ADRA Prepares Response
| 01. 10. 2009 |
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SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is preparing to respond to the needs of survivors of the earthquake that hit Indonesia's West Sumatra province on September 30th, 2009, killing at least 1 100 people, trapping thousands underneath damaged buildings, and displacing thousands more. Power and phone lines are severed throughout the region, making it difficult to communicate, or properly analyze the extent of the damage.
ADRA is assessing damages and will be attending a coordination meeting with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Thursday afternoon, October 1, 2009.
"We will be coordinating with our emergency coordinator on site as soon as possible, as well as OCHA, and the local government to plan our response, select the best area, etc.," said Hector Carpintero of ADRA Indonesia, who compared it to a 6.3 earthquake that struck near the city of Padang in West Sumatra in 2007, although killing only about 70 people , and injuring more then 200.
The 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck around 5 p.m. local time, and occurred about 33 miles (53 kilometers) from Padang, West Sumatra.
Author: Nadia McGill
Picture provided by: Reuters/Stringer/Indonesia, courtesy www.alertnet.org