IOM will today start to move 1,000 tonnes of rice to meet food
shortages in Pariaman district, where landslides buried three
villages in the September 30th West Sumatra earthquake.

The distribution, in response to a request from the Indonesian
government, will use 25 of IOM's West Sumatra fleet of 60 trucks,
which together with a second fleet of 27 light vehicles, now
operates from IOM's Padang logistics hub.

The hub provides free trucking services for government and
agencies donating aid and coordinates the complex logistics
operation required to manage incoming aid, warehouse it and ensure
its efficient distribution to those most in need.

Conditions in the provincial capital, where IOM now has 20
emergency response staff, have improved, electricity has been
restored and petrol stations have re-opened, according to IOM
public information officer Jihan Labetubun.

But the full extent of the damage and the needs of thousands
made homeless by the quake remain unclear. Search and rescue teams
and volunteers from Bung Hatta University are conducting IOM needs
assessments in Pariaman and Agam districts.

IOM is also working closely with the Indonesian National
Coordinating Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) in both
districts to deliver tents, food and generators to survivors.

In Tanjung Raya and Sungai townships, IOM is working with local
government and NGOs, including Oxfam, to help displaced families
now living in temporary camps.  

IOM is also procuring 3,500 individual toolkits and 700
community toolkits – each of which serves five families - to
help survivors rebuild their homes ahead of the upcoming monsoon
rains.

The kits – together with tarpaulins, hygiene kits, cooking
and cleaning equipment, jerry cans, buckets, stoves and blankets
– will be funded from a EUR 924,000 donation from the
European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO.)

Government estimates suggest that at least 135,000 houses were
severely damaged by the quake, together with numerous health
facilities, roads, bridges and public buildings.

IOM is working closely with the BNPB, the West Sumatra emergency
response agency (SATKORLAK), the local authorities and partner
agencies to deliver an effective and coordinated response to the
disaster.

IOM's emergency response capacity in Sumatra dates back to the
2004 tsunami and the 2005 Nias earthquake. In March 2007 it
established an office in Padang following the Solok earthquake.

For more information, please contact:

Jihan Labetubun

IOM Padang

Tel. +62.8111907028

E-mail: "mailto:jlabetubun@iom.int">jlabetubun@iom.int