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Sumatra earthquake
A devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September, killing at least 770 people and causing widespread destruction. You can help those affected by the earthquake by donating to our Sumatra earthquake appeal.
The situation
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A woman comforts her relative at a hospital in Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra island.
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The earthquake which struck off the city of Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra island has killed at least 1,000 people. More than 1 million people have been affected. The 7.6 magnitude has damaged 70 per cent of Padang, most of the damage has been done to public infrastructure and big buildings.
Homes, schools, bridges and roads have been destroyed by the earthquake. Some of the most serious damage is in the villages to the north of Padang city – in an area called Pariaman, close to the epicentre of the quake. There are places where 80–90% of the houses have been damaged.
Some villages have been cut off entirely because of landslides caused by the earthquake.
Others have only become accessible again in the last few days and roads are still in very poor condition. Supplies are being helicoptered into those villages that have been cut off. There is the danger that there will be further landslides in these areas that will once again make more places inaccessible.
"The scale of the earthquake’s damage is slowly being revealed as the more remote areas are reached. So far some 125,000 houses are destroyed, leaving around 500,000 people homeless, 55 health facilities are piles of rubble, nine bridges are down and 162 roads are in urgent need of repair. " Ian Bray, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Senior Press Officer
Oxfam is there
Oxfam is placing an immediate priority on delivering clean water and shelter to the most vulnerable people. We are tankering clean water to villages in Pariaman.
We are also helping people to clean their wells and collect rainwater, so that they’re not dependent on water being brought in. This is particularly important in areas where there are likely to be further landslides.
- We’ve already distributed around 5,000 tarpaulins and have another 40,000 on the way. We will also be distributing tool-kits and clothes.
- For the long-term we plan to assist 100,000 people. We will spend the next six months helping not only to meet their immediate needs, but also helping them to get their lives back together as quickly as possible.
- We are working in rural areas, where destruction was worse but where there is far less help being offered.
Our 40-strong aid team in Padang and surrounding areas is working closely with our local partners to deliver assistance. These are organisations with strong local knowledge so they are invaluable in helping us to know what people need, and in making sure our aid is as effective as possible.
We will also be working with local partners and authorities to help improve preparations for future disasters. Thankfully we began this work before this earthquake, so we already had local people in place who could start handing out emergency supplies like tarpaulins as soon as the earthquake hit. We believe there is room for even better preparedness
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