Swift Response to Earthquake

Christian World Service’s international emergency response network, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International was already responding to the needs on northern Sumatra's Nias Island and Simeuleu Island off Aceh when the most recent earthquake struck.
ACT members were immediately able to respond to the earthquake providing support to the teams on the ground.

Three medical doctors and a nurse have been flown today by helicopter from Jakarta to Nias where they will provide emergency medical services. 25 boxes of medicine, 1,000 units of non-food packages and 500 tents are also en route to Nias, together with emergency food supplies. Further supplies will be provided as needed.

Local ACT Coordinator, Djunijanto writes that between 500 and 1,000 houses and/or buildings have been damaged or destroyed in Gunungsitoli, the capital of Nias. Four churches are said to have collapsed. The Nias airstrip was destroyed and a wide road now makes do as a place for small aircraft to land. The two biggest markets in the capital burnt down according to reports, and two vital bridges were damaged. Electricity and telephone lines have been cut.

The number of causalities has not been confirmed, although it is believed that many people are still trapped in the rubble of buildings that collapsed. According to local authorities, the number of people killed by the quake is thought to run into the hundreds, but fears are that the death toll may exceed 1,000.

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