05 October 2009
Countries Hit by East Asian Disasters Receive U.S. Assistance
Washington — The United States has been part of international relief efforts in the East Asia-Pacific region after separate natural disasters struck Indonesia, the Philippines, Samoa and neighboring islands within a period of less than one week. In efforts to find victims, provide relief and assess damage, the Obama administration has sent military and civilian personnel, relief supplies and cash.
Of the disasters, the September 30 earthquake that hit West Sumatra in Indonesia caused the most damage and casualties. According to press reports, the 7.6 magnitude quake damaged 180,000 homes and 20,000 buildings, and casualty figures, which are expected to rise, are currently reported to be 1,100 dead and 1,000 missing.
Press reports said local officials in Padang, where the damage was most extensive, have called off the search for people who have been trapped for five days in the rubble of destroyed buildings, and are now focused on bringing aid supplies and medical help to survivors.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said October 5 that with the different disasters affecting the region, “U.S. assistance in this time of great need has been rapid and diverse, and we stand ready to provide additional aid that would be helpful.”
For Indonesia, Kelly said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had authorized $7 million in logistical support to the relief operation. In addition, U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) dispatched a Humanitarian Assistance Rapid Response Team field hospital to Padang that can treat 400 patients a day, Kelly said.
PACOM also sent the USS Denver, the destroyer USS McCampbell and the USNS Richard Byrd. Kelly said the USS Denver, “an amphibious response vessel with helicopter-lift capabilities,” is expected to arrive in Padang on October 8 and “its helicopters will assist in the hardest-hit rural areas from offshore.”
An estimated 45 metric tons of emergency relief supplies from a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) stockpile in Dubai were expected to arrive in Padang via commercial aircraft later on October 5, Kelly said.
“This includes plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, [and] generators,” he said, and “will all be distributed via the Red Cross.”
The spokesman said that on October 3 USAID gave $300,000 to the humanitarian relief group Mercy Corps, which is providing water sanitation and shelter. Kelly added that USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance “has set aside an additional $3 million to provide further assistance once the need for additional aid is determined.”
In an October 1 statement, Kelly said USAID had also sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to work with Indonesian authorities, and a U.S. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team had been deployed to the area.
Speaking in Washington October 1, President Obama expressed his condolences to the people of Indonesia and said the United States was ready to provide assistance. “I’ve ordered my administration to coordinate with the ongoing relief and recovery efforts there,” he said.
Obama, who spent some of his childhood in Indonesia, said the country has suffered “extraordinary hardship” from natural disasters. “I know firsthand that the Indonesian people are strong and resilient and have the spirit to overcome this enormous challenge. And as they do, they need to know that America will be their friend and partner,” he said.
On October 1, the president also made several unsuccessful attempts to speak with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. When he was able to reach Yudhoyono on October 2, Obama received an update from the Indonesian leader regarding the situation on the ground and Obama repeated his offer to do everything possible “to help alleviate the suffering and provide assistance to the relief operation,” according to an October 2 statement from the White House.
PACOM commander Admiral Tim Keating told reporters at the Pentagon October 2 that U.S. C-130 cargo planes had delivered relief supplies to Indonesia October 1 and that the USS Denver was on its way.
“It has those three heavy-lift helicopters and a half-a-dozen other, smaller helicopters. And that is … at the specific request of our country team, echoing the desires of the government of Indonesia,” Keating said.
The September 30 tsunami that hit Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga killed 176 people as of October 5, washing away entire villages before residents had a chance to be warned. Samoa and Tonga did not ask the United States for assistance; the United States has been providing military personnel and supplies to American Samoa, a U.S. territory. (See the America.gov blog entry “Disaster Strikes in the Pacific.”)
TYPHOON KETSANA RELIEF CONTINUES IN THE PHILIPPINES
On September 26, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Ketsana, which triggered landslides, submerged homes and flooded streets, including in the capital Manila. Press reports put the death toll at nearly 300 people. Typhoon Ketsana went on to cause floods and landslides in Vietnam and Cambodia, reportedly killing 96 in those countries.
Spokesman Kelly said October 5 that U.S. forces are in the Philippines supporting rescue operations, distributing relief supplies, and providing medical treatment to the flood victims.
“USAID has allotted $1.8 million to support relief operations of humanitarian organizations, and then the USS Tortuga and the USS Harpers Ferry are in Subic Bay right now and are providing support,” he said.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said the U.S. Embassy in Manilla released $100,000 from USAID funds immediately after the disaster to provide relief supplies to the Philippine National Red Cross “so that they could begin providing relief supplies, such as mosquito nets and hygiene kits, to those in evacuation centers,” Kenney wrote in a September 29 blog entry.
A September 30 statement from USAID announced that the agency had allocated an additional $1 million in emergency assistance to the Philippines for emergency grants to humanitarian organizations to meet “the most immediate and pressing needs.”
The USAID statement added that two of its disaster response experts had been sent to Manila to facilitate U.S. assistance and assess the impact of the flooding, and the U.S. Department of Defense “provided equipment, transport and logistics support, including a helicopter and six Zodiac boats for movement of supplies and to aid relief and recovery efforts.”
In her blog, Ambassador Kenney described initial U.S. response efforts and said the U.S. mission had organized the use of the helicopter and Zodiac inflatable boats to support rescue efforts by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“The U.S. Navy had the boats in the water within an hour of landing and set out to help rescue people and drop off relief supplies to those who chose to stay at their homes. Working through the night, they rescued dozens of people, including a pregnant woman who they safely delivered to the hospital three hours before she gave birth,” Kenney said.
The ambassador said throughout the country, “ordinary citizens ignored their own losses to donate and deliver relief supplies,” and Americans were also donating funds to help relief organizations.
A planned joint military exercise between U.S. and Filipino Marines was turned into a recovery effort, the ambassador said. U.S. Marines were bringing in equipment such as trucks and bulldozers to help clear debris, and U.S. military medical teams were working with Filipino armed forces to provide free medical care and supplies to the families who had left their homes for evacuation centers, according to the ambassador.
“We will continue to look for ways to offer assistance to our Filipino friends as they rebuild and recover from this tragedy,” Kenney said.
Ambassador Kenney’s blog can be found at the U.S. Embassy Manilla’s Web site.
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