JAKARTA – A London-based non-governmental organisation has warned there is a risk of infectious disease outbreaks in the aftermath of the earthquake in Cianjur district, West Java.
Save the Children said survivors were now crammed into tents housing hundreds of people with little access to adequate toilets or clean water.
In a statement it said heavy rains and aftershocks have created swamp-like conditions that are ripe for the spread of disease and infection.
The non-governmental organisation with 30 national members said more aid needs to be delivered immediately after the earthquake and aftershocks damaged 40,000 houses and over 500 schools.
Nearly 115,000 people, including about 38,450 children, remain homeless after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Nov 21, it said.
The government of Indonesia, agencies and aid workers have been working round the clock with relief and rescue operations, but aid efforts were being hampered by an influx of so called ‘disaster tourists’.
“We’re now facing further delays because roads are blocked by people travelling to Cianjur to see the devastation,” Save the Children Indonesia’s response team leader, Fadli Usman said.
He said hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes and were now forced to live in conditions that are a ticking time bomb of disease and infection.
“They desperately need life-saving aid as quickly as possible, but many of the worst-hit families live in remote areas which are already difficult to reach by road.
“As well as access, we also desperately need more funds to help meet the immediate needs of children and families including clean water, blankets, tents, emotional support, and educational supplies so that children can carry on as best they can,” Fadli said.
Save the Children has been operating in Indonesia since 1976 and works in 19 of 38 provinces on humanitarian responses and programmes linked to education, health and nutrition, child protection and poverty. – Bernama
