UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE PLAN FOR INDONESIA

UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE PLAN FOR INDONESIA

GENEVA/ NEW YORK, 2 June (OCHA) -- The United Nations has launched a $103 million Earthquake Response Plan (ERP) to support the urgent needs of over 200,000 people severely affected by the earthquake, which struck Indonesia’s island of Java on 27 May 2006.  Over the next six months, the United Nations agencies and their non-governmental partners will continue to work in support of the Government to provide assistance to the tens of thousands of survivors who need assistance.

Among the priorities established by the six-month plan are emergency shelter, medical assistance, clean water and sanitation, food and child protection.  The need for early recovery efforts is also recognized.

Measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, the earthquake caused the heaviest damage in Klaten and Bantul and is responsible for possibly as many as 6,200 fatalities, according to government sources.  At least 200,000 people have also been displaced.  Additionally, almost 140,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, 269 schools destroyed, 49 kilometres of roads and bridges damaged, and 302 government buildings and 284 religious buildings damaged.  More than 50,000 patients have been treated in 31 local hospitals, field hospitals, health centres and mobile clinics.  However, local health facilities continue to be overwhelmed, especially as the population has no homes to which to return. 

A large portion of the 6 million people living in the affected districts were directly impacted by the earthquake, particularly in light of damage to infrastructure and services, such as water treatment plants, sewage systems and medical facilities.

Agencies participating in the Earthquake Response Plan include:  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNOSAT, International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, CARE, and Save the Children.

The full text of the Earthquake Response Plan for the Indonesian earthquake is available at:  www.reliefweb.int.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA- New York, tel: +1 917 367 5126, mobile: +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA- New York, tel: +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel: +41 22 917 2653, mobile: +41 79 473 4570.  OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.

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