Indonesia: Earthquake and Mt. Merapi Volcano OCHA Situation Report No. 22

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2006/0165

OCHA Situation Report No. 22
INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE and Mt. MERAPI Volcano

This report is based on information received from the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator's Office in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the UN team in Yogyakarta.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. As the rainy season draws closer, the need for school tents replacement or temporary schools has become a pressing issue. The Cluster is planning to build approximately 550 temporary schools. Currently 50 temporary schools have been constructed.

2. The provision of free medical care for earthquake victims, which is being managed by the insurance company Askes, is not working effectively. A lack of information to beneficiaries about the policy is cited as the main reason.

3. The District Office of Veterinary, Marine and Fisheries has confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus in poultry in seven sub-districts in Bantul. So far no cases of human infection have been identified.

4. While emergency provision has improved shelter security to a significant proportion of the population over the last few months, this limited provision will not meet needs in the rainy season due to inadequate quality emergency shelter and the lack of space and privacy.

General

5. Key discussions with the Government on its housing assistance packages for the affected population in Yogyakarta and Central Java are ongoing. The Central Government has committed to providing IDR 3 trillion (approx. USD 330 million) for housing reconstruction in the two provinces in 2006. A total of 303,000 houses have been identified as being beyond repair - (206,000 in Yogyakarta and 97,000 in Central Java).

6. The proposed policies are:

- Yogyakarta Province -- two options are under consideration:

1. The provision of permanent housing package of IDR 15 million per affected family for 47,000 households (approx. 30% of the total destroyed households); or

2. The provision of IDR 15 million for 41,730 households and the provision of IDR 1million for remaining households that will allow them to buy roofing materials which will provide temporary shelter. This is a proposal from the Shelter and Reconstruction Sub-Cluster.

- Central Java Province -- provision of IDR 4.5 million to all 100,000 affected families.

Yogyakarta

6. The Yogyakarta Provincial Government has allocated a budget for all five affected districts in the Province to start construction work on public facilities including schools and Puskesmas (local health clinics).

Gunung Kidul

7. 159,522 affected people in Ngalang Village, Gedangsari Sub-District are facing a water shortage problem. A total of 229 wells out of approximately 500 were destroyed by the earthquake. The Gunung Kidul District Government plans to provide IDR 1.1 billion to PDAM for water trucking. Oxfam has 1,400 jerry cans.

Yogyakarta City

8. A number of assessments, including shelter assessments, have shown that the affected populations in the urban areas of Yogyakarta City have been largely overlooked in the provision of assistance. While the city was not badly damaged by the earthquake, some neighborhoods suffered a high percentage of damage. The Emergency Shelter Cluster is currently focusing on these areas to ensure that needs are being met.

Bantul

9. The Provincial Government has provided 400,000 pieces of bamboo to Bantul District. The bamboo will be distributed to households for use in temporary shelters. 13,970 pieces of bamboo had previously been distributed to 15 sub-districts in Bantul.

10. The Poverty Management Project in Urban Areas, or P2KP, (a joint Government and World Bank initiative) has started construction of over 600 houses in 43 villages across 15 sub-districts in Bantul.

Central Java

Klaten

11. The priority areas of Klaten District for rehabilitation and reconstruction are Shelter, Education and Livelihoods. The District Government is now developing a strategic framework for the livelihood programmes incorporating the assessment results and suggestions by the organizations.

12. Three coordination meetings are now organized by the District Government. The schedule are as follows:

a. Shelter: 14:00, Thursdays at Bappeda Office

b. Livelihoods: 14:00, Tuesdays at Bappeda Office

c. Social and Culture (Health, Education and Protection): 14:00, Wednesdays at Bappeda Office

Mount Merapi

13. Mount Merapi Volcano is currently inactive. A meeting to review the Mount Merapi Response Plan will be held on Friday 25 August. On the agenda, a discussion of future strategy and a stand-down of the current response plan that has been in place since May.

CLUSTER UPDATE

Health:

14. The government's provision of free medical care for earthquake victims, which is managed by the insurance company Askes, is not working effectively due to a lack of information provided to beneficiaries about the policy. The Cluster member organizations are disseminating related leaflets on the ground, Puskesmas (Local Health Center) and hospitals.

15. The District Office of Veterinary, Marine and Fishery has confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus in poultry in seven sub-districts in Bantul. Blood samples have been taken from people that have been in contact with infected poultry and so far no cases of human infection have been identified. Puskesmas are conducting heath promotion activities to educate people on how to handle sick birds.

16. The cluster is developing health promotion materials to be used for public health information. The promotion materials are focused on rehabilitation and disability prevention, hygiene and sanitation, access to health services and communicable diseases i.e. vector borne diseases and avian influenza.

17. A total of 358 spinal cord injuries have been reported across both provinces, however the actual number of people to have been disabled by the earthquake is believed to be much higher. Current estimates put this number between 400 and 1,000. The Health Cluster is continuing to monitor the situation. Organizations such as Yakkum, Handicap International, and Perdosri are providing rehabilitation therapy, such as physiotherapy. The Health Cluster is also in the process of mainstreaming the issue of disability across all clusters, in particular shelter.

18. Approximately 50 tons of damaged and expired drugs, donations and routine stock in PHO and District Health Offices (DHO) warehouses need to be destroyed. A protocol for drug disposal has been developed and is now awaiting approval by local health authorities. The estimated cost for disposal amounts to US$250 per ton.

19. IOM has provided assistance to return home to 5,018 people who were patients in 14 different hospitals in Yogyakarta, Bantul and Klaten. IOM has also assisted 680 people with transport to hospitals for follow-up medical care.

20. Some international agencies such as MSF and Maltheser International will wind down their emergency activities (mobile clinics and field hospitals) by the end of August. They are currently handing over their caseload to local medical organizations. The spinal cord injury patients have already been transferred to the care of Yakkum.

Water and Sanitation (Watsan):

21. The AusAID Assessment data extrapolated that 153,698 toilets and 155,050 wells were moderately and badly damaged. Initial targets were to rehabilitate 10,000 wells to meet the emergency needs and to rehabilitate or construct 15,000 toilets. Currently 3,154 wells have been cleaned and 6,427 toilets have been repaired or constructed.

22. The water trucking by UNICEF/PDAM in Klaten and Bantul is being gradually reduced. Communities in Klaten and Bantul have started to rehabilitate or construct wells by themselves. However, other districts still have rehabilitation difficulties and continue to use this service.

23. UNICEF plans to distribute through NGOs 2,000 Rubble Cleaning Kits consisting of shovels, wheel barrows and crow bars. A total of 480 sets have already been provided to NGOs for distribution to communities. Each Rubble Cleaning set will be used by ten households to clean around their living areas, especially their sanitation facilities.

24. IRD, in cooperation with UNICEF, is working on the issue of School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in 100 schools. Up to date, 50% of the work has been completed.

25. John Hopkins University in cooperation with UNICEF conducted a community workshop on Hygiene Promotion involving 85 people from ten villages in Yogyakarta City on 2 August 2006. Hygiene promotion materials will be developed based on the discussion in the workshop and the products developed will be used at workshops/seminars in schools and communities.

Food and Nutrition:

26. The Government provided 7,985 MT of rice to 798,480 people in Bantul and 7,138 MT of rice to 713,788 people in Klaten. Correspondingly, it provided cash support of IDR 71 billion and IDR 64 billion. The Government originally had planned to continue distribution over a three-month period; however the distribution was stopped after one month.

27. The Cluster, in collaboration with their local partners has assessed the situation and identified most affected areas based on the criteria of 70% and above damage to houses. The Cluster is delivering on a monthly basis to families to avoid issues with over stocking.

28. WFP has provided approximately 900MT of fortified noodles and biscuits in Bantul and Klaten respectively in June and July, reaching 120,000 beneficiaries. Each household receives 25kg of noodles and 18kg of biscuits per month. WFP will reduce distribution for August and September to 600MT for per month and reach 70,000 beneficiaries.

29. A number of cluster members have already started phasing out their food deliveries. Several organizations will close their operations by the end of September.

30. The provision of Vitaita by HKI will finish at the end of August; this assistance is an emergency intervention only.

31. CARE will continue their voucher distribution scheme for rice, cooking oil, sardine, green beans and iodine salt until the end of September.

Education:

32. As the rainy season draws closer, the need for school tents replacement or temporary schools has become a pressing issue. The Cluster is planning to build approximately 550 temporary schools. Currently 50 temporary schools have been constructed. UNICEF is working on assessing temporary school design with AMURT, UGM and LPTP. Discussions will be held with partners interested in the temporary school programme.

33. According to the assessment by the Provincial Offices of Education, 784 schools in the Central Java Province and 1,491 in the Yogyakarta Province were damaged. There is no data available for the Central Java Government on the assistance provided by the government for rehabilitation or construction.

34. The Cluster is focusing on the rehabilitation and construction of elementary schools. In Klaten, out of 357damaged elementary schools, 92 received assistance from humanitarian organizations. In Bantul, out of 364 damaged elementary schools, 168 have received assistance.

35. Save the Children plans to organize a workshop on Disaster Preparedness, aiming at incorporating disaster preparedness into school curriculum.

Protection:

36. The cluster is developing a one-page guidance note on protection mainstreaming for other clusters to use.

37. A total of 186 safe spaces for children, including 87 in Bantul, 80 in Klaten, seven in Sleman, two in Magelang and ten in Sukohargo, have been established by international and national NGOs. Thirteen mobile teams are operating in Bantul and seven mobile teams in Klaten.

38. Social Department (DepSos) has registered 113 vulnerable children.

39. 110 field staff from local NGOs in Yogyakarta and in Klaten received a two-day training course in the Child Protection Assessment. This assessment is ongoing and data compilation will commence shortly. It is hoped that this assessment will help in clarifying on reliable reports on child protection issues, in particular reports of child separation.

40. Some NGOs and UNICEF, in conjunction with DepSos and Social Office (DinSos) are conducting a series of trainings on Basic Psychosocial Support for local NGOs, local authorities and community members, including adolescents. The cluster is working with DinSos, law enforcement agencies and local NGOs to identify cases and response mechanisms. The cluster is also working on the development of a referral mechanism that will provide a more systematic response to identified cases.

41. Gaps remain in addressing the protection needs of the elderly as there are no agencies within the Protection Cluster with this remit

Emergency Shelter

42. The Cluster is now conducting the survey to identify needs and gaps at sub-district and village levels. The result will be available by the end of next week. The current distribution data indicates cumulative distribution coverage, but not disaggregated distribution coverage.

43. Looking towards the closing of the Cluster, final-phase planning is currently focused on coordinated in-filling of outstanding emergency shelter needs, coherence of public messaging for application of technical best practices, monitoring outcome and impact, and advocating to the Central and Provincial Governments on the implication of housing policy on transitional shelter provision.

44. Materials fro 150 transitional shelter units have been delivered to the sub-districts of Terbah and construction is ongoing with community participation supervised by IOM engineers.

The full report from the Emergency Shelter Cluster can be obtained at: http://ochaonline2.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=8296

Early Recovery:

The Shelter and Reconstruction Sub-Cluster

45. 59,446 roof structures (transitional shelters) planned to be built or funded within 18 member agencies working in the affected areas. It will meet approximately 19.4% of projected need within 303,000 destroyed or heavily damaged housing categories. The member agencies are now implementing their commitments.

46. While emergency provision has improved shelter security to a significant proportion of the population over the last few months, this limited provision will not meet needs in the rainy season due to inadequate quality emergency shelter and the lack of space and privacy. The Cluster advocates that both Province consider earmarking a minimum of IDR 1 million to distribute equally to all affected households with destroyed and heavily damaged housing categories to support the implementation of self-built roof structures. This means distributing IDR 1 million to all 303,000 affected households across both Provinces to allow time for procurement and construction to be completed before the monsoon season begins. This strategy has been discussed with Provincial planning departments and department of Public Works as well as the National Technical Committee.

47. Providing material and technical assistance to construct a roof ahead does not reduce the resources available for later reconstruction as all materials will be reused for the other component of the permanent house to be provided to a family.

Agriculture:

48. The Agriculture Cluster with financial support and technical guidance by FAO completed a Rapid Livelihoods Assessment and follow-up workshop on 8 August. FAO Rome is now reviewing the preliminary summary of the results of this workshop. The results should be made available by the end of next week.

49. A number of recommended short-term and medium term rehabilitation interventions are now being considered. The most immediate needs will be to provide seed and fertilizers to farmers in Bantul and Klaten -- the most seriously affected earthquake zones. In response to this urgency FAO will provide before the next planting season in October, 70 MT of rice seed in Bantul and 29 MT in Klaten, 561 MT of NPK in Bantul and 232 MT in Klaten, and 280 MT of Urea in Bantul and 116 MT in Klaten.

COORDINATION

50. OCHA Yogyakarta is continuing to hold bi-weekly General Coordination Briefings at 8:30am on Mondays. These meetings also include briefings from provincial/district government officials. The next meeting will take place Monday 4 September.

51. The Shelter and Reconstruction Sub-Cluster is working together with the Emergency Shelter Cluster. The two groups have joint coordination meetings every Monday.

Tel.: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 0023
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officer:

(in GVA) Mr. Guido Galli, direct Tel. +41-22-917 3171
(in N.Y.) Ms. Kirsten Gelsdorf, direct Tel. +1-917-367 3599

Press contact:

(in GVA) Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 2653
(in N.Y.) Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. + 1-917 367 5126