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Asia Pacific Disaster Response

Mercy Corps is responding to two earthquake-related disasters in the Asia Pacific region: in the tsunami-wracked Samoan islands and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where an emergency team is responding in the areas most affected by a 7.6-magnitude quake.

Samoa

Samoa was slammed on Tuesday, September 29 by a tsunami generated by a 8.0-magnitude quake. We're helping through a local partner on the ground. Officials report that the death toll stands at more than 140.

Indonesia

A powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia on Wednesday, September 30, collapsing buildings and causing landslides in coastal cities and towns. Reports from the most-affected areas place fatalities at more than 1,115, with hundreds still missing. Mercy Corps immediately deployed an emergency team to the city of Padang, the closest major city to the epicenter.

Photo: REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper, courtesy www.alertnet.org

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In Samoa, our assistance is being channeled through South Pacific Business Development, which gives group loans to poor women in villages throughout the Samoan islands.

In Indonesia, Mercy Corps’ response includes distribution of shelter items, tools for cleanup and rebuilding, other relief supplies and provision of clean water. Our team is also continuing to assess the situation, alongside other responders and local authorities, to determine how we can help with other urgent and long-term needs.

We have a long history of quick, efficient disaster response in Indonesia: over the last several years, we’ve rushed lifesaving assistance to survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami, severe flooding in Jakarta and three earthquakes that shook the region. In early September, we responded to another major earthquake that devastated villages in west Java, an island to the south of Sumatra.

Latest News from Mercy Corps

Blog Post:  Honored to be back among a people I love ›

It had been 33 years since I had lived there, but when I heard that a tsunami had struck the Samoa Islands, I was taken back to a time when I had lived there as a young missionary.

Blog Post:  Cash-for-work begins in Samoan villages ›

We started our cash-for-work programme yesterday, alongside our partners from South Pacific Business Development, in Samoan villages that were devastated by the recent tsunami.

Blog Post:  Restoring the flow ›

Electricity is back up and the cell phones are mostly working again, but there is still no running water in Padang city. Mercy Corps is helping address that problem.

Blog Post:  Landslides make isolated Indonesian villages resemble 'lost continent' ›

My colleagues and I got on motorcycles and headed north out of earthquake-stricken Padang to an isolated area we'd heard was badly affected by landslides.

Blog Post:  Doing the (sometimes) heavy lifting ›

Today, a little physical exertion reminded me why we are working so hard, in all our different ways of working.

Blog Post:  The team behind the emergency response team ›

With much of our team deployed as emergency responders to Padang, the work in Mercy Corps' Banda Aceh office continues.

Blog Post:  Delivering aid to Samoa's survivors ›

It has been an unforgettable week. Last Friday, we delivered aid packages to 102 women in 15 different villages across the southeast coast of Samoa.

Blog Post:  Lake Maninjau ›

About six months ago, I joined some friends in a trip to the beautiful lakeside town of Bukit Tinggi. Today, I returned there for a much different purpose.

Blog Post:  Lead them to a better future ›

I started my day with a cup of tea while reading a local newspaper, Padang Ekspres, this morning. The headline for today’s edition read “70 percent of the business economy is destroyed.”

Blog Post:  A happy moment amid the ruins ›

I was busy distributing hygiene kits to earthquake-affected households when I was suddenly attracted by the sound of laughter from outside the hall.

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