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Description of the disaster
On 28 September 2018, a series of strong earthquakes struck Central Sulawesi Province. The strongest of which measured at 7.4 magnitude and 10km deep with the epicenter in Donggala Regency, close to the provincial capital Palu. The earthquake triggered a tsunami which reached up to three meters in some areas, striking Talise beach in Palu and Donggala. The earthquakes, tsunami and resulting liquefaction and landslides caused significant damage and loss of life in affected areas.
According to the latest disaster data from Central Sulawesi Governor’s report (January 2019), 2,830 people lost their lives while more than 170,000 people were displaced by the earthquakes and tsunami. More than 100,000 houses were also damaged, of which 30 per cent were heavily damaged and four per cent were lost dues to liquefaction. Overall, the economic cost of the disaster amounted to more than CHF 1.6 billion across the province.
Up to now, around 170 organizations have been or are still carrying out activies across 63 locations in Central Sulawesi. Priorities for response have been mainly provided; while recovery needs still include shelter, logistics and economic recovery, clean water, sanitation and hygiene, recovery of infrastructure and public services, protection and social inclusion, including women’s and children’s protection, and education.
Regional and international agencies continue to support national efforts and leadership. NGOs, the Red Cross and the UN are on the ground augmenting the national response.
Summary of the current response
Overview of Host National Society
PMI Central Sulawesi has been on the ground since the onset of the disaster. PMI has deployed almost 1,400 volunteers from branches in Central Sulawesi and across Indonesia. These volunteers have been running clinics (mobile and fixed), providing referral services and psychosocial support, setting up emergency shelter sites, distributing water and relief P a g e | 3 items, among other things. PMI also mobilized assets from the province and other areas to augment local capacities in the districts.
PMI continues to deliver assistance, supported by partners, including IFRC technical specialists, to fulfill responsibilities delegated to it by the National Disaster Management Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana – BNPB) such as the reception and distribution of relief items received through the government-to-government pipeline, in addition to managing those coming through the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
Overview of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in country
IFRC has a Country Cluster Support Team (CCST) for Indonesia and Timor Leste consisting of a head of office and technical capacities in disaster management, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, National Society development (including protection, gender and inclusion - PGI), communication, community engagement and accountability (CEA) and support services in finance, human resources and administration.
PMI works with the IFRC and ICRC as well as PNS in-country including the American Red Cross,
Australian Red Cross and Japanese Red Cross Society. All these partners are coordinating with PMI as the Movement’s lead agency for both operations in Lombok, Sulawesi and Sunda Strait.
The Japanese Red Cross has been supporting the implementation of the health activities, specifically a clinic in Tompe and distribution of mosquito nets. The Turkish Red Cross has been playing a role in relief distribution, setting up tents and supplying non-food items (NFIs), as well as supporting the rehabilitation of one school. The German Red Cross has a representative in Palu, providing support for WASH. The American Red Cross has provided staff from its delegation in Jakarta to support admin and shelter/relief assessments.
Information sharing and coordination meetings are led by PMI and have been taking place since the first earthquake in Lombok. The IFRC is supporting engagement with the international media to reflect the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s response and support resource mobilization efforts.
On 22 February 2019, a coordination meeting was conducted at Palu basecamp with PMI, IFRC and Turkish Red Crescent participating. Among the things discussed during the meeting was PMI’s long-term plan, including introduction of organizational design for the province to handle the operation. Furthermore, during the meeting, PMI finalized the shelter plans which does not include the construction of transitional shelters and the complementary latrines. The decision was based on the government plans as well as internal PMI discussions and strategies.
Movement coordination meetings are conducted with partner National Societies and ICRC to discuss the response to date and how to best support the National Society’s continued efforts in a coordinated manner. Bilateral support from Singapore Red Cross, Turkish Red Crescent, Malaysian Red Crescent, Kuwait Red Crescent, German Red Cross, Hong Kong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, Turkish Red Crescent Society and Qatar Red Crescent were also provided to support one of the or all three operations.
Global and regional tools were activated to support the operation since the onset of the disaster. This has since been replaced by longer-term delegates handling the operation in support of PMI.