Emergency Supply Cache from Direct Relief to Aid Indonesian Tsunami Survivors

Direct Relief has offered $30 million of medical inventory for survivors of the Indonesia earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Sulawesi region last week. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)

By Tony Morain

October 3, 2018

Emergency supplies pre-positioned in Southeast Asia by Direct Relief have been made available to Indonesian authorities responding to survivors of the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi. As of 3 Oct 2018, the numbers of casualties have reached 1,047 and displaced over 70 thousands people. The widespread impact of the disasters also left over 65 thousand houses damaged.

With the main airport in Palu now open for humanitarian cargo, the Indonesian government has requested that all international aid be registered through the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), which is working to support the National Disaster Management Authority of Indonesia (BNPB). The Centre has mobilized the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team, which has arrived at ground zero and is working closely with BNPB.

Direct Relief signed an agreement in 2016 with the AHA Centre to pre-position and supply medicines and medical assistance to countries within the ASEAN region. Supplies from Direct Relief are currently staged at and ready for deployment from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Subang, Malaysia. Supplies include antibiotic ointment, bandages and other personal care items for 5,000 evacuees or displaced people.

Emergencies often trigger an outpouring of assistance that has the unintended effect of creating delays when time is of the essence. By coordinating with the AHA Centre, Direct Relief aims to prevent logistical bottlenecks and ease the burden on the local and national authorities responsible for ensuring that imported items are appropriate for the circumstances.

Adding to the stockpiled items, Direct Relief has offered the Indonesian disaster response agency (BNPB) an additional $30 million in medicine and supplies from its available inventory.

Additional information on the AHA Centre’s disaster response is available here:

Direct Relief has set up a webpage allowing donations specifically to aid victims of the Indonesia earthquakes and tsunami. Funds donated to Direct Relief for Indonesia will be used solely for relief efforts in Indonesia.