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USINDO BULLETIN

Yogyakarta Earthquake Bulletin #10
0900 hours Eastern Time
Monday, June 3, 2006

As a service to USINDO colleagues and friends, we provide the following compilation of earthquake situation report:

The official death toll rose to more than 6,200 according to the Financial Times. Weekend media reporting was dominated by aftershocks and increased volcanic activity of Mt. Merapi. Over a thousand aftershocks hit the region since the May 27 6.3 force quake, while Merapi’s lava dome has enlarged.

The New York Times today notes that, while most volcanoes have vertical eruptions, these eruptions flow down the sides of Mt. Merapi, affecting only the surrounding areas. An Indonesian vulcanologist predicts that the city of Yogyakarta, 20 miles to the south of Merapi, “will almost certainly be spared an eruption.” About 200,000 villagers live within four miles of the volcano and when gas clouds from intermittent eruptions extend more than three miles, “it is time to worry.”

One NGO on the ground in Yogya reported that international relief agencies have “flocked” to Bantul district near the epicenter of the quake, while many outlying and remote villages still have not been reached. In Klaten district, local NGOs and community organizations are banding together to coordinate distribution of still-scarce relief goods. Rains have set in and shelter is desperately needed; tents, blankets, emergency lighting, small portable generators and other basic survival goods are still required. Mobile clinics are needed to reach those in outlying villages. (Please contact IDEP at www.idepfoundation.org/dep_donate.php) if you are able to help.

Other reports indicated that roads in and into the earthquake zone are “gridlocked” with convoys of trucks and other vehicles laden with food. Foreign Minister Hasan Wirajuda is quoted as saying that no more international medical aid was necessary and relief organizations should focus on reconstruction. Many survivors reportedly are trying to rebuild their houses with wood scraps and salvaged bricks but few have money to buy building materials.

Differences in calculating the number of homeless have surfaced. Indonesian government officials claim that 650,000 people were left homeless based on estimates that 135,000 houses, with an average of five inhabitants each, were demolished in the quake. However, UNICEF believes the number of homeless may be far fewer, roughly 130,000. The government estimates that 40 to 50 thousand houses were completely destroyed and more than 60,000 suffered serious damage.

Several news reports highlight that students in Central Java, as well as in Aceh and Nias, returned to their schools this week to take the national year-end examinations. At least 835 schools were damaged or destroyed in the Yogya quake.

The UN has put out an urgent call for $100 million in assistance to help earthquake survivors. Over 20 nations have sent aid, particularly to care for the injured and homeless. The WHO said there have been no outbreaks of disease thus far, but diarrhea has affected some children and could prove fatal. Reporting continues on survivors who took shelter in poultry sheds, thus raising the risk of avian flu. WHO officials said it is necessary to disinfect suspect places with high pressure water and disinfectant to avoid the H5N1 virus. The WHO also plans to launch a “huge” vaccination program against tetanus and measles, although there have been no outbreaks yet.

The government will begin handing out small cash grants to survivors to buy clothes and reconstruct their houses. Victims would be given up to Rp 30 million (approx US$320) to rebuild their homes, plus 10 kg (22 lbs) of rice a month, Rp 3000 (32 US cents) per day for kitchen items and clothes, and free medical care for three months. According to Coordinating Minister Aburizal Bakrie, the funds will be given directly to family heads in their villages. The UN reported that “logistical bottlenecks” in the flow of assistance have been overcome.

National assistance includes 100 additional relief workers sent by Japan; Malaysia provided US$275,000 worth of powdered milk and other food supplies, blankets and medicine; and China delivered a shipment of tents, mattresses, power generators and medical equipment valued at US$1.25 million. Meanwhile, in Singapore the head of the Japan Defense Agency is reported as having said that his country wants to lead military disaster relief efforts in all of Asia.