Summary
During this reporting period, the Mount (Mt.) Merapi eruption has killed 322 people and displaced 136,686 people in the provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta. The number of displaced people has decreased as many people have returned to their homes when the government declared Mt. Merapi safer than before. Meanwhile in Mentawai, 509 people died and 11,452 were people displaced by the earthquake and tsunami. Initially, the Merapi operation was to end 9 December but because of the mud flow on 29 November, the operation has been extended up to 23 December 2010. The Mentawai Islands also saw an extended operation from 10 November to 22 November. At the moment, the operation in Mentawai is starting to the temporary shelter programme.
In Central Java and Yogyakarta, many people have started to clean up their houses. PMI has distributed 276,170 face masks to protect people from potential respiratory problems from prolonged exposure to volcanic ashes. PMI also distributed 100,000 salted eggs for 25,000 beneficiaries in both provinces.
At the same time, PMI volunteers in Central Java and Yogyakarta continue to assess and monitor sites for internally displaced people (IDP) as part of plan of the recovery programme. Relief items such as baby kits, family kits, food, baby milk and used clothes are still being distributed to the displaced people. PMI also continues to provide meal packages to the IDPs camps. In addition, PMI continues its mobile health clinic and has started health promotion activities in the field. The health team is targeting to improve the capacity of village volunteers on how to deal with burn injuries too. Meanwhile, PMI teams continue to provide psychosocial support services in IDP camps where data from the Ministry of Health show that almost 500 people suffer from psychological
problems. The water and sanitation team has reduced the production of water during this reporting period as base camp was moved. The water and sanitation team has produced more than 3 million litres of clean water. For the future, the team is planning to continue assessments and increase water production to meet needs. Meanwhile PMI activities in Mentawai have entered the early recovery programme, which is constructing temporary shelters. The shelter construction will be completed by 60 per cent before Christmas. This shelter measures 6x4 meter2 - It is a shelter made with sheets of corrugated galvanized iron (or locally known as zinc), for roofs, wood walls, frameworks, wood flooring and plywood dividers. It was mentioned in the previous operations update there were three relocation areas. However, until this reporting period, the community decided on another relocation site, known as KM 02 Lakau. The 516 temporary shelters will be spread in four camp sites, 203 units in KM 44, 79 units in KM 37, 206 units in KM 27 and 28 units in KM 02 Lakau.
PMI has continued to distribute food items and non-food items to support the construction of temporary shelters from the mainland in Sumatra to South Pagai Island. 686 tool kits and 30,000 zinc sheets were distributed. PMI has also planned to transfer the first stage of cash grants for shelter construction to the communities groups at camp sites. In this first stage, PMI will transfer around CHF 71,734 to the shelter beneficiaries. In health activities, PMI has also distributed 1,120 masks and has continued its psychosocial support activities to beneficiaries, particularly children at Mentawai. Meanwhile, the water and sanitation team is advocating other organizations to conduct water and sanitation programmes at the campsites. The water and sanitation team is also going to participate in vector control.
Partners who have made contributions to the appeal to date include the American Red Cross, British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross/Canadian Government, Danish Red Cross, Icelandic Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross, the Republic of Korea National Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross/New Zealand Government, Norwegian Red Cross/ Norwegian Government, Swedish Red Cross, and the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent. Other agencies include Voluntary Emergency Relief (VERF)/the World Health Organization (WHO). Lastly, Nokia and private donors are also part of this list.
Bilateral partners supporting PMI include American Red Cross, the Red Cross Society of China, Hong Kong branch, German Red Cross, Italian Red Cross, Singapore Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross and United Arab Emirates Red Crescent. The Danish Embassy is also a bilateral supporter.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on behalf of PMI, would like to thank all partners for their generous response to this appeal.