Relief operations got into full swing Thursday on Indonesia's Nias
Island, three days after an 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck the region,
killing hundreds of people.
After trickling in for two
days, the flow of aid to the shattered island began to flow in heavily
Thursday, with international aid organizations and the Indonesian military
ferrying in water, food and medicine.
Scores of hungry people lined up for food and water at distribution
centers throughout the island's capital, Gunung Sitoli.
As many as 30 percent of the town's buildings were destroyed late
Monday when the quake struck. It came just three months after a
[magnitude] nine quake in the same area sparked a tsunami that killed over
300,000 people across the Indian Ocean.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the island
Thursday, and promised to take quick action to help residents, including
getting the electricity running again.
The president says, in this emergency situation, the people of
Indonesia must unite to overcome their hardships and rebuild their lives.
Many international aid organizations were already working on
reconstruction projects in nearby Aceh province. Over 200,000 people died
in Aceh in the December tsunami.
Miguel Gomez from Firefighters Without Borders, says his team
immediately made its way from Aceh to join search and rescue efforts on
Nias.
"We are very near the disaster, and half our team came here to try to
save the possible life," he explained. " We are very happy, because,
yesterday, we found alive a child 13-years-old, in the night. All the team
is very satisfied with that."
But Francois Desruisseaux, the United Nation's logistics manager on the
scene, says search and rescue efforts are
winding down.
"Normally, people see rescue lasting about four days. But it will
probably go beyond that," he said, "because there are often cases where we
can find victims who are alive beyond that. However, starting in the next
couple of days, we will be moving on to the emergency and relief
phase."
Mr. Desruisseaux says, aside from immediate relief needs,
such as food, medicine, water and shelter, aid organizations will be
looking at long-term needs, as well.
"Water, obviously, is a priority for the local authorities. Their
public works make it a priority," he explained. "However, we have UNICEF,
who is providing water treatment plants. They will facilitate also the
treatment of water. Oxfam is
an important player also for water and sanitation, so they will probably
facilitate the distribution of the water afterwards, and WHO(World Health
Organization) is providing some water treatment tablets."
The U.N. says travel is difficult on the island, because so many
bridges have collapsed, so it will take time to assess the damage and
needs of the rest of the island. |