Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami: Situation Report No. 38

Following the earthquake of 28 March OCHA is issuing separate situation reports on the situation in Nias, Simeulue and other areas affected specifically by this latest disaster.

Overview

On 26 March, Bakornas, the national coordination body for natural disasters, ceased issuing updates on the numbers of reported dead and missing as a result of the tsunami on 26 December. At 30 March the total dead and buried as a result of the tsunami stands at 126,602 in Aceh and 130 in North Sumatra.

Based on information provided by SATLAK (the coordinating body at the district level), Bakornas reported on 30 March that the number of displaced people in Aceh stands at 514,150 in Aceh and 19,620 in North Sumatra. There are concerns about duplicate registration of IDPs given the high mobility of the population.

Sectoral Developments

Health:

Looking to the restoration and sustainability of long-term reproductive health care, UNFPA is conducting a rapid assessment in 4 community health centers; in Suka Makmur, Montasiek and Seulimum villages in Aceh Besar and in Ule Kareng in Banda Aceh. It is planned to equip local health centres with emergency obstetric care services to save the lives of pregnant women who face complications during pregnancy.

The 16 counselors recruited by Flower Aceh and Fatayat NU to provide psychosocial support, have completed their training and will provide psychosocial services at two UNFPA-supported community health centres in Batoh and Ceurih villages in Banda Aceh and an outreach service that covers neighboring Aceh Besar district.

In support of health services to IDPs and tsunami-affected communities the IOM project to provide up to 51 Satellite Health Clinics (SHCs) at temporary shelter sites across Aceh province is progressing. The construction of the first SHC in Lambaro, Aceh Besar, is almost complete and medical and non-medical fixtures should be in place by 21 April. In Darussalam, Aceh Besar, at the site of the proposed clinic, the ground was elevated to street level to divert stagnant water and improve drainage.

Construction is set to start in Ruyung, Aceh Besar, on Tuesday, 12 April and contractors have been appointed to clear the land ahead of the construction of health clinics in Bireuen (Simpang Mamplan, Samalanga and Glumpang Payong), Pidie (Simpang Tiga, Keunireu and Batee1) and Aceh Besar (Naga Umbang, Lamaro Raider and Bung Page).

For longer-term recovery and reconstruction of the health service and infrastructure in Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya districts, IOM is working with the Ministry of Health and the Aceh Provincial Health Office assess the condition of buildings, availability of equipment and medical supplies, and the skills of health staff. Three Puskesmas in Bubon, Meureubo and Drien Rampak in Meulaboh, have been identified as project sites.

In Calang, District Health Officials have requested international organisations and agencies to focus more on the rehabilitation or establishment of permanent medical facilities instead of emergency activities, given the transition from emergency to recovery and reconstruction. NGOs providing clinical services are encouraged to participate in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of pre-existing clinics. Food and Nutrition:

WFP's total planned beneficiary caseload for April is 720,000, including IDPs, host families and other vulnerable groups in Aceh and North Sumatra. In order to further enhance food delivery to the west coast of Sumatra and to the remote islands of Nias/Simeulue, the agency has recently chartered a new landing craft, Transindo 1, with a capacity of 1,000 MT (TDW: Dead Weight). This brings the total number of WFP landing crafts to four. To date, WFP has dispatched approximately 38,000 MT of food, of which some 1,000 MT of food have been dispatched to Nias and Simeulue.

The school feeding programme that commenced in early April for some 16,000 beneficiaries initially, aims to give a nutritional boost to schoolchildren through the distribution of fortified biscuits, which are provided as a mid-morning snack. The programme will gradually be expanded over the coming months with beneficiary numbers expected to reach 340,000 by August. On 13 April, a School Feeding Introduction Workshop will be attended by school feeding coordinators from the District Education Departments of Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh, and Pidie, as well as three implementing partners: Al Ami, Muhammadiyyah, and Keumang. The training of teachers for targeted schools in Aceh Utara is also planned for the week commencing 18 April. School feeding and general food distribution is planned to continue up to the end of December 2005.

Shelter:

The Draft Blueprint or Master Plan for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Aceh, Nias and North Sumatra outlines plans for the construction of permanent housing for IDPs and affected communities. In the meantime temporary shelter is being provided in the form of Government built Temporary Living Centres (TLCs) or temporary shelter sites constructed by international organizations. IOM is in the process of constructing earthquake resistant housing in Tingkeum, Aceh Besar and has completed site preparation for 188 housing units in Cot Paya, Darussalam and for 350 housing units in Lambada

Lhok. Seven additional sites have been identified in the vicinity of Tingkeum and site assessments are planned.

IOM inspection teams are monitoring the manufacturing phase at the production plant in Bandung in West Java and the premises of the three Acehnese firms recently contracted to build 3,000 of the housing units. In Pasir, Padang Surahet, and Suak Indrapuri, three sub-districts close to Meulaboh, discussions have been held with the local community heads on the relocation of their communities to safer areas in the vicinity of Meulaboh, where the temporary housing units could be constructed. These sub-districts lie directly on the coast and were almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 of the original 9,000 residents. Site assessments are being coordinated with various organizations such as CRS, World Relief, Samaritan's Purse and The Salvation Army.

Water and Sanitation:

UNICEF has been conducting WATSAN assessments in Aceh Besar, Pidie and Beuren districts to verify water and sanitation service conditions at TLCs and IDP camps. There is also continued monitoring of water tankering, de-sludging trucks and waste collection for these sites as well as public facilities in Aceh Besar. The improved reporting indicates that service levels are increasing but have not yet reached 100% coverage. UNICEF has also prepared tender documents for the construction of an interim landfill facility in Banda Aceh, which would receive solid waste collected from the city and temporary shelter sites. The contract will go out to tender with locally approved contractors in the coming weeks. Interim and longer-term plans are also being developed to restore the latrine/septic tank sludge disposal facility in Banda Aceh that was destroyed by the tsunami. Prior to the tsunami, the facility received sludge from all of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar and is critical to public health.

Community Education:

Educating the community in Aceh and North Sumatra about preparedness and response to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis has been identified as a key need by UNICEF, UNESCO and NGOs, such as Save the Children. The Coordination Groups focusing on psychosocial issues in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh are preparing a leaflet on earthquake and tsunami information, preparedness and response, and will facilitate orientation activities for religious leaders so that they are able to provide accurate information to the community about such natural disasters.

Education:

The Head of the Provincial Education Office in Aceh has outlined the Government's immediate priorities for the education sector, which are:

1) the physical reconstruction and rehabilitation of the education system,

2) the need to increase the quality of teaching as a foundation for quality education, and

3) increasing the capacity of education administrative and management systems.

UNICEF is supporting the Government in its reconstruction and capacity building activities. The agency has signed an MoU with the National Ministry of Education to construct 300 schools in tsunami affected areas, with total project costs estimated at $90 million and the first session of joint teacher-training activities were completed on 9 April. For example, Temporary Emergency Teachers in Banda Aceh participated in a 6-day workshop facilitated by UNICEF and Save the Children.

Further support for the 1,200 new temporary recruits commenced on 11 April through district-level training sessions.

Coordination

The local authorities in Calang held a presentation for UN agencies and NGOs on the points of the Government's Master Plan that focuses on the recovery and reconstruction of Calang and requested their inputs and advice on the reconstruction process..

Logistics

Road:

The current overland truck routes served by IOM trucks are:

Medan - Banda Aceh
Medan - Meulaboh
Medan - Lhokseumawe - Bireun - Sigli

Along these routes the following amounts of relief supplies have been delivered:

From Medan to Banda Aceh - 15,776MT
From Medan to Meulaboh - 3,796MT
From Medan to Biruen, Lhokseumawe, Sigli, and Deli Serdang -780MT

The humanitarian relief items have been distributed for over 100 different organizations, including the Government of Indonesia, UN Agencies, international and national NGOs, intergovernmental and governmental organizations.

For the latest comprehensive report regarding logistics please see UNJLC's latest situation report at www.unjlc.org

Useful websites:

Government:

www.bakornaspbp.go.id (National Coordination Board for Natural Disaster Management)

www.acehrecovery.bakornaspbp.go.id.

www.depsos.go.id (Department of Social Affairs)

www.depkes.go.id (Department of Health)

www.lin.go.id (National Information Board-Ministry of Information and Communication)

www.info-ri.com (Information-Republic Indonesia)

Other:

www. coe-dmha.org/tsunami.htm (daily chronology of key events)

www.apan-info.net - tsunami page (Pacific Command)

For detailed information please contact:

Oliver Lacey-HallOfficer-in-Charge, OCHA IndonesiaTel. +62 21 314 1308Fax. +62 21 319 00 003Mobile +62 811 825 278Email: lacey-hall@un.org

Iain Disley Reports OfficerTel. +62 21 314 1308Fax. +62 21 319 00 003Mobile +62 812 10 50 835Email: disley@un.org