Aid still needed for earthquake survivors

Aid is still yet to reach thousands of earthquake survivors four days after the disaster hit Indonesia. Some survivors of the quake say they have had to resort to begging for money because very little or no humanitarian help at all has got to them. Today, the search for survivors of last Wednesday’s devastation on the island of Sumatra was called off as heavy rain hampered the delivery of relief to thousands of increasingly desperate.

Time has run out for finding survivors, and the international aid pouring into Indonesia will be focused on finding the bodies of those who died, helping the living and trying to prevent the spread of disease. 
 The United Nations says 1,100 people are confirmed dead, but warns that the final toll could be as high as 5,000. It is now a race against hunger, cold and disease for aid agencies, whose efforts are being co-ordinated by the Indonesian government and the UN. They're trying to get help to isolated villages outside the disaster zone of Padang, some of which were totally flattened by the quake - and to evacuate communities now at risk of landslides from the continuing rain.

Frantically waiting for international aid to arrive, people living in Padang city’s worst hit Pariaman district have set up barriers on the roads near their damaged houses, begging for donations from motorists. Some survivors also pitched tents outside their damaged houses. “Since the earthquake, we haven't received anything,” said Riswan Zailani, whose family home was flattened in the quake, leaving only its corrugated zinc roof visible. “I heard there's a lot of assistance coming but where is it?” Zailani, told Reuters news agency as he stood in the middle of the road waving a can to passing motorists asking for money.

About 3,000 people were injured in the quake, according to the governor’s office, and 83,000 homes were badly damaged. The Indonesian government, which is leading the emergency response, admitted that many survivors had not received aid yet. “We have distributed whatever we have. Many have not received assistance because the stuff is still on its way,” said Ade Edwar, head of West Sumatra's disaster coordinating agency. “Relief supplies from Jakarta are expected to arrive as soon as today. What else can we give them?” he said. “We are not in a supermarket. We are in an emergency situation,” he said.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children