A week after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami in Indonesia, the picture of devastation slowly continues to reveal itself. Communications infrastructure was badly damaged, and entire communities were cut off. To date, over 1500 people are known to have died in the disaster, and over 70,000 have been displaced.
Members of the ACT Indonesia Forum, already responding to humanitarian needs after an earthquake in Lombok, immediately began to respond in Sulawesi as well. ACT members Church World Service, Pelkesi, and YAKKUM Emergency Unit are responding.
ACT members began to provide health care in Palu, treating patients in the yard of the Palu Grand Mosque. A truck carrying tarps, sleeping mats, blankets, bottled water, hygiene supplies and more has left South Sulawesi en route to Central Sulawesi, and another is being loaded with more hygiene and cleanup supplies.
ACT members have provided water to about 1200 people in Sidera, a village that has received survivors from three other nearby villages. Villages like Sidera have not yet received the assistance they need, so the ACT team was able to help meet the local needs.
A photo gallery from the ACT response can be seen here.
