Israeli NGO to aid survivors of devastating Indonesia earthquake
IsraAID will send an Emergency Response Team to Indonesia to take part in relief efforts and assess further needs.
Israeli humanitarian aid NGO IsraAID will deploy an Emergency Response Team to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, following the earthquake and tsunami which hit on September 28th. Major population centers in Central Sulawesi province have seen wide-scale devastation, including building collapses, landslides, and shortages of fuel and power. According to recent reports, more than 1,200 people have been killed, and at least 48,000 have been displaced from their homes to more than 100 evacuation centers. As many as 1.5 million people may have been affected. These numbers continue to rise as authorities restore communications and access to the worst-affected areas.
IsraAID’s Emergency Response Team, including Israeli and international disaster relief specialists, will utilize the organization’s many years of disaster response experience to guide their work and ensure life-saving aid can reach at-risk populations. The team will distribute vital relief items, provide mental health support to vulnerable groups and conduct an initial needs assessment to determine immediate and long-term needs, including medical care, psychological support and safe water provision.
IsraAID has significant disaster response experience across the local region. The organization has played a key role in international responses to large-scale disasters, including the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, 2013’s Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
IsraAID teams continue to work in Nepal, the Philippines, and Japan, providing long-term support to local communities as they strive to rebuild. In recent months, IsraAID’s teams in the Philippines and Nepal have deployed to North Luzon in the Philippines following the devastation of Typhoon Mangkhut/Ompong and to the Indian state of Kerala after large-scale, deadly flooding.
Navonel Glick and Yotam Polizer, IsraAID’s Co-CEOs, said: “The communities affected by this disaster need immediate support, as the full scale of destruction is only now becoming clear, with thousands experiencing the trauma and uncertainty of displacement and the tragic loss of loved ones. IsraAID’s regional and international teams have extensive experience in similar situations, including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Our Emergency Response Team will have a crucial impact in the immediate, post-disaster situation and assess long-term needs as Indonesia rebuilds.”