Indonesia: Earthquake and Mt. Merapi Volcano OCHA Situation Report No. 23

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2006/0185

OCHA Situation Report No. 23
INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE and Mt. MERAPI Volcano

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

HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Government has identified a total of 303,000 houses as being beyond repair and qualifying for assistance (206,000 in Yogyakarta and 97,000 in Central Java).

2. With the onset of the rainy season at hand, there are concerns that a lack of durable transitional shelters will result in an increased number of cases of acute respiratory infection as well as other diseases. A sample survey conducted by the Emergency Shelter Cluster in 170 villages in the Provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java indicate that roughly 60% of households do not yet have a durable roof to last the rainy season. WHO anticipates that those households without adequate shelter will be at a higher and sustained risk of contracting Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) when the rainy season starts. Vulnerable groups within this 60% could be in life threatening situations, particularly those already sick, the elderly and the young.

3. The Shelter Cluster has committed to providing approximately 59,000 roof structures (transitional shelters). 8,000 roof structures have been built thus far.

General

4. The Government has finalized the housing assistance package for affected populations in Yogyakarta and Central Java. A total of 303,000 houses have been identified as being beyond repair - (206,000 in Yogyakarta and 97,000 in Central Java). The package consists of:

- Yogyakarta Province - the provision of IDR 15 million in two stages per family for those with destroyed or heavily damaged houses. Money will be dispersed to "community groups" including all 206,000 affected families. As the first tranche covers only approximately 30% of all the affected families, each group must then decide who will receive funds to build a house, and who will not.

- Central Java Province - the provision of IDR 4.5 million to all 97,000 affected families.

Yogyakarta

Gunung Kidul

5. The earthquake caused extensive damage to water and sanitation facilities in the Gunung Kidul district. The District Government is providing water trucking through PDAM. Oxfam in cooperation with Yayasan Dian Desa is working on the rehabilitation of water, sanitation and well-cleaning, covering eight villages. Oxfam has rebuilt 600 out of a total 750 destroyed or damaged latrines. LPERS is fixing damaged water pipes.

Sleman

6. A number of NGOs have already committed to constructing roof structures in the District. CORDAID plans to build 3,000 transitional shelters by the end of 2006 and another 3,000 next year.

Bantul

7. Priority areas of the Bantul District Government are Education (IDR 73 billion or US$ 8 million, allocated by the Provincial and District Governments); Health (IDR 3.5 billion); Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Markets (IDR 3.4 billion); Irrigation (IDR 230 million); and Housing (IDR 11.2 billion).

8. All 67 destroyed and damaged Pustu (Sub-community Health Center) have received or will receive assistance for rehabilitation or reconstruction. Nine out of 26 destroyed and damaged Puskesmas (Community Health Center) need further assistance.

9. The District Government has submitted a proposal to the Central Government for the reconstruction of three destroyed markets (Piyungan, Imogiri and Miten markets) and of 28 moderately damaged markets. IDR 52 billion is required for reconstruction of destroyed markets and IDR 10 billion for moderately damaged markets.

10. The earthquake damaged eleven irrigation channels. No rehabilitation has taken place as yet. The District Government has submitted a proposal of IDR 5.6 billion to the Central Government for their rehabilitation.

Central Java

11. The Klaten District Government priorities for recovery and reconstruction are Shelter, Education and Livelihoods.

12. IDR 14 billion (IDR 7 billion from the Central Java Provincial Government to construct 1,010 transitional shelters and IDR 7 billion from the Klaten District Government) has been allocated for the construction of temporary shelters.

CLUSTER UPDATE

Health:

13. Public health centers report that acute respiratory infection (ARI) has been the leading cause of morbidity throughout the aftermath of the earthquake. The number of ARI cases though currently on the decline, is expected to increase with the onset of the rainy season unless the shelter situation improves rapidly.

14. As reflected in the data chart below, ARI cases are especially high in areas severely damaged by the earthquake. This is due to poor housing conditions such as overcrowding, poor hygiene and sanitation facilities, exposure to humidity and cold temperature, and indoor air pollution all contribute to ARI.

* The data was collected by the Puskesmas (Community Health Center) in five districts: Bantul, Sleman, Kulonprogo, Gunung Kidul, and Kota.

15. The capacity for treatment of mental health disorders needs to improve urgently. Due to lack of appropriate medical personnel in the majority of Puskesmas, most patients do not have access to counseling. WHO with support from IOM is facilitating training programmes on mental health diagnosis and treatment in several affected districts.

16. Mobile team services for medical rehabilitation provided by Yakkum, Perdhaki and Handicap International are still active. Focal points have been assigned by Yakkum and Handicap International at the community level to assist disabled and injured patients.

Water and Sanitation (Watsan):

17. Initial targets of the Cluster are to rehabilitate 10,000 wells and 15,000 latrines to meet emergency needs. 4,356 (43%) wells have been cleaned or repaired and 6,842 (45%) latrines have been repaired or constructed so far.

18. UNICEF-supported water trucking in Klaten and Bantul is gradually phasing out. PDAM and UNICEF will continue water trucking for two hospitals located in Gantiwarno and Prambanan, in Klatan District until October 2006.

19. A Water Treatment Plant (WTP) donated by General Electric has been installed in Bantul. The plant will operate for two months starting September and at a rate of 38 liters of portable water per second. The clean water will be distributed to communities through water tanks and jerry cans.

20. John Hopkins University in collaboration with UNICEF will hold a series of community workshops for raising hygiene awareness in September. The workshops target community and schools in six districts.

21. The cluster closure is being discussed. The local government will take on the coordination role.

Education:

22. The reconstruction of schools continues to be a major priority for Yogyakarta and Central Java governments. The Yogyakarta Provincial Government will provide IDR 200 million for rehabilitation and IDR 800 million for reconstruction per school.

23. Cluster members are planning to provide approximately 100 temporary schools to bridge the gap between the tent schools and permanent schools before the rainy season. Exact needs of temporary schools will be identified in relation to the government's reconstruction plans.

24. The University of Gajah Mada, with UNICEF's support, finished a structural assessment of 1,631 damaged schools (80% of the total number are primary schools). Key findings are:

1. Klaten is the most severely affected district with only 17.2% of primary schools considered safe, 34.4% needing repair, and 48.3% are classified as unsafe; and

2. The second hardest hit district is Bantul with only 23.6% of primary schools considered safe, 37.3% needing repair, 39.2% unsafe.

Protection:

25. The Department of Social Affairs (DepSos) officially handed over its tasks on protection issues to the Provincial Department of Social Welfare (DinSos) on 30 August.

26. DepSos and DinSos have registered 423 vulnerable children.

27. International and national NGOs have established a total of 208 (186 in the last sitrep) safe spaces for children: 128 in Bantul, 80 in Klaten, seven in Sleman, two in Magelang and ten in Sukohargo. Seventeen mobile teams are operating in Bantul and eight mobile teams in Klaten. These teams design recreation programmes for children and visit schools to play with them. Responsibility for these initiatives will gradually be shifted to communities with the involvement of local government.

28. Gaps remain in addressing the protection needs of the elderly. There are no agencies within the Protection Cluster covering this need.

29. The Cluster closure has been discussed with DinSos. Coordination within the Cluster and the four Working Groups: Disability, Gender, Child Protection and Psychosocial, will remain under the leadership of DinSos.

Emergency Shelter

30. A sample survey conducted by the Emergency Shelter Cluster in 170 villages in the Provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java indicate that roughly 60% of households do not yet have a durable roof to last the rainy season. WHO anticipates that those households without adequate shelter will be at a higher and sustained risk of contracting Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) when the rainy season starts. Vulnerable groups within this 60% could be in life threatening situations, particularly those already sick, the elderly and the young.

31. The Cluster is now conducting a survey to identify the remaining gap in tarpaulin needs. Current data indicates a gap of 12% - 30% using disaggregated data from the Cluster. Results will be available by the middle of September. Additional tarpaulins will be distributed either by GOI or through the Cluster.

32. Planning assumptions made at the start of the emergency as to whether one tarpaulin per family is sufficient to meet emergency needs is being reviewed by the Cluster.

Early Recovery:

The Shelter and Reconstruction Sub-Cluster

33. The Cluster has committed to providing approximately 59,000 roof structures (transitional shelters). 8,000 roof structures have been built representing 13.5% delivery on commitment 2.6% of total need based on the GOI target of 303,000 affected households.

The Livelihood Sub-Cluster

34. The Cluster organized a meeting to discuss a strategic framework of livelihoods restoration. The major priorities are:

1. Recovery of small industry, agriculture, and tourism;

2. Recovery of banking services;

3. Recovery of traditional small and medium enterprises including production of handicrafts; and

4. Maintenance and management of natural resources.

Agriculture:

35. The Cluster has finished the Livelihoods Assessment and is now working on the development of a strategic plan for Livelihood Recovery in agriculture sector.

36. FAO, in coordination with the Provincial Agriculture Departments of Yogyakarta and Central Java, has finalized plans to distribute 793 MT of NPK fertilizers, 396.7 MT of Urea fertilizers, and 99 MT of rice seed to 132 farming groups (9,786 beneficiaries) in the Bantul and Klaten districts. This is funded by Japan, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and will be completed by the end of September in time for the next planting season in October.

Food and Nutrition:

37. Most of the Cluster members will complete their food distribution programmes by the end of September. HKI and CWS have already finished their activities in August. WFP, CARE and Hope International will phase out by the end of September. UNICEF and WVI will continue their distribution of food supplements until November. The Provincial Government completed a one-time distribution of rice and cash grants.

38. The Cluster is discussing its closure, as all goals will be achieved by the end of September. The Cluster coordination meeting will be replaced by the District coordination meetings in Klaten and Bantul.

COORDINATION

39. OCHA held several meetings with senior government officials in Yogyakata a Central Java to discuss relief and recovery issues, in particular transitional shelter, conducting joint assessments, and supporting the establishment of a government information management system.

40. 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 18 September.

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Press contact:
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