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Indonesia earthquake kills more than 260 people
Posted on:
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022
More than 260 people are now known to have died as a result of an earthquake that struck Indonesia yesterday. CBM Global’s Indonesia country team is working with our partners in the affected region to assess the impact on people with disabilities. CBM UK has launched an emergency fundraising appeal today in response to the earthquake.
The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the main Indonesia island of Java around 1.20pm local time on 21 November, triggering landslides and causing buildings to collapse. The quake was centred in Cianjur town in West Java but was felt in several surrounding districts.
More than 13,000 people have been displaced, thousands of homes have been destroyed, as well as schools and hospitals. Many of those killed or injured were children.
Matthew Hanning, CBM UK Director of Programmes, led CBM’s Country Team in Indonesia from 2012 to 2018.
He says:
“It’s desperately sad to hear about the devastating impact of this earthquake in Cianjur, especially as so many dead or injured were children at school when the quake hit. West Java is an area I know well from my years in Indonesia. Our hearts go out to all those affected and we pray for all those delivering relief and support. As always we know people with disabilities will have been among those most affected so our team in Indonesia, who already work with local disability organisations, are reaching out to them to assess the most urgent needs.”
Over 58,000 people are taking refuge in emergency tents, places of worship, and government buildings that are still functioning, but the power supply is turned off and hospitals have been hit badly.
“It is highly likely that the impact of the disaster will continue to increase.” – Anton R Purnama, Humanitarian Coordinator, CBM Global Indonesia
People with disabilities are often among those worst affected when a disaster strikes. They are at higher risk of being injured or losing their lives, and also face additional barriers to accessing humanitarian support.
CBM works with organisations of people with disabilities and partners operating in disaster-prone areas to ensure that people with disabilities are included in all response efforts. Since the earthquake hit, our Indonesia team have been liaising with an Organisation of People with Disabilities in Cianjur district, along with other partners, and will be working with them to urgently assess the impact on people with disabilities and considering how best to respond.
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