JUST BACK FROM NIAS, LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF STAFFER FEARS THE WORST FOR EARTHQUAKE-RAVAGED NIAS CAPITAL
Some websites describing the effects of December's tsunami described Gunung Sitoli, the capital city of Nias island, as having been sheltered from the worst of last year's devastation. As the sun rose the morning after a powerful 8.7 earthquake occurred just off the coast of Nias, Gunung Sitoli lay in ruins.
"Up to 80 percent of Gunung Sitoli's buildings have been destroyed, and the (only) road to the airport is broken," reported officials from Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB), a Lutheran World Relief (LWR) partner with staff on Nias working with survivors of December's disaster.
"People left the dead and injured under buildings as they fled to higher ground," the same official reported, responding to questions about the fear of a tsunami generated by the powerful quake. Reports elsewhere were of the panic in Medan, Banda Aceh and as far away as Thailand and India, as word spread of the earthquake.
Tsunami warnings were hastily issued and lifted a few hours later as officials reasoned that any tsunami generated by the quake would have hit land already. As time passed, fears subsided, as life returned to normal in areas unaffected by the quake itself.
In Gunung Sitoli however, it was mayhem, as electricity and phone access still was out in the early morning hours, as the world awaited reports of the damage and loss. "Evacuations are starting early this morning," said the YTB source. "Our immediate needs are shelter, medicine and food," she reported.
Lutheran World Relief's communication manager, Jeff Rasmussen, returned this week from visiting LWR-funded relief efforts on Nias and in other parts of Indonesia. "We spent our second night on Nias in Gunung Sitoli," he reports. "It is, by far, the worst possible place on Nias for an earthquake to occur. It's a bustling, crowded town of 30,000 or so.certainly the biggest on Nias, with tightly packed buildings in the central city area and only one road to the airport, which now is damaged. These factors and the island's inherent remoteness will make assessing needs and delivering assistance all the more challenging," he adds.
December's tsunami decimated small coastal villages on the east side of Nias, near Sirombu, yet left the east coast, where Gunung Sitoli is located, virtually unaffected. "We have excellent partners in place on Nias," comments LWR's Rasmussen, "many of whom are native Niasans, so they have an intimate knowledge of the land, the infrastructure and the people. After the immediate relief phase in response to this most recent earthquake, we're confident that our partners also will be able to replicate the longer term work being undertaken on the opposite side of the island, which involves rehabilitating educational facilities, providing clean water and repairing or building sanitation systems and running medical facilities there," he concluded.
|
Resilient kids are proof that LWR and partners were succeeding at restoring life to normal on the east coast of Nias, hard hit by December's tsunami. Monday, its capital, Gunung Sitoli, was struck by a 8.7 earthquake that leveled nearly 80% of its buildings. |
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF PARTNERS WORKING IN NIAS AS EARTHQUAKE HITS
Baltimore, March 29, 2005 -- Lutheran World Relief (LWR) partners Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) and Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB) began working on the island of Nias almost immediately after the December 26th tsunami struck. Nias is an island off of the west coast of Sumatra, closest to the epicenter of Monday’s massive earthquake.
News sources report that 1,000 people may have died and 80% of the buildings left standing from the tsunami have been damaged or destroyed as a result of this recent earthquake. LWR staff member, Jeff Rasmussen, who returned from the island of Nias last week, said, “Communications to and on Nias are difficult, as is travel there. LWR is waiting to hear from partners working on the island. We’ll know much more when day breaks there.”
In addition to emergency relief aid in the weeks following December’s tsunami, LWR’s partners have been running mobile clinics, manning health posts in ten camps, drilling wells and establishing sanitation facilities. Longer term work also have begun there, including rehabilitating educational facilities, providing school kits and training for volunteers and medical personnel.
“We saw a very organized, effective effort on Nias,” adds LWR’s Rasmussen. “Well run camps are providing food items and cooking necessities, school uniforms, shoes, books and even sports equipment for the children. Compared to the sheer magnitude of the damage, the loss of life and the need in Banda Aceh,” Rasmussen continues, “Nias didn’t receive nearly the help the mainland did. But I assure you, the need there is significant as well, and we can only imagine, at this point, that it will be that much more challenging with Monday’s quake destroying the few homes that remained.”
Lutheran World Relief began its response to the tsunami immediately following the disaster, and since has been working on Nias, in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India to mobilize resources, connect with additional partners in the affected areas, and get help quickly and efficiently to those communities hardest hit. We are also in the process of developing our long-term 10-year strategy for reconstruction, rehabilitation and risk management across the region.
LWR continues to monitor the situation in Nias and has tried, unsuccessfully at this point, to reach its partners there. LWR staff member, Jeff Rasmussen is available to provide comment and background. LWR’s Tsunami Team Leader is Barbara Wetsig, and can be reached at 410-230-2722.
WAVE OF GIVING™: The need for relief is undeniable. The need for long-term assistance also is a necessity. Lutheran World Relief launched a long-term rebuilding effort for the countries of South Asia affected by what some people have termed the worst disaster in history. The initiative seeks to raise at least $5 million dollars to rebuild lives, create livelihoods and restore dignity to millions affected by the tragic events of December 26th.
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
For more information contact Emily Sollie at esollie@lwr.org or 410-230-2802.
