A deadly 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck western Indonesia Monday, killing at least 162 people and injuring hundreds in Cianjur in West Java. Hundreds of structures were destroyed or damaged in the area, where landslides are frequent.
Thousands are estimated to have been displaced from their homes, and medical facilities were treating patients outdoors. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Direct Relief staff members are in the region, coordinating with local and regional response organizations, including Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center, or MDMC, and the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, or AHA Centre, headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. Direct Relief is ready to respond to medical needs as they become known.
Health concerns after earthquakes include acute trauma injuries, as well as health needs that can arise due to displacement, including lack of access to medications needed to manage chronic diseases, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Infrastructure damage can also hinder access to medical care, power, and clean drinking water.
History of Response
Direct Relief has a long history of responding to disasters in the region, including the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. In recent years, Direct Relief coordinated with MDMC, which is the disaster response arm of one of Indonesia’s largest civil society organizations, during the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami of 2018.
The organization operates a network of clinics and hospitals across Indonesia and plays a key role in disaster relief efforts. Direct Relief and MDMC have worked together during past emergencies, including the South Asian earthquake and tsunami of 2004, the 2006 earthquake centered near Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as well as the Lombok, Indonesia earthquake, which rattled the region in August 2018.
In response to the earthquakes in Lombok and Sulawesi, Direct Relief worked with MDMC to rebuild a range of health infrastructure, including a hospital and a number of community health clinics. Direct Relief also supported MDMC as the organization responded to Covid-19 across the archipelago and also supported Indonesia’s Ministry of Health with large volumes of medicines and supplies to fight Covid-19.
Direct Relief is also coordinating with the AHA Centre, with which Direct Relief signed an agreement in 2016 to pre-position medicines and supplies throughout the ASEAN region. Since 2008, Direct Relief has provided $58.8 million in medical aid to Indonesia and provided $2.6 million in funding to local organizations focused on health.
