World Vision Assessment Team Deployed in Indonesia

Relief teams from World Vision Indonesia are on their way to assess the impact of a series of massive quakes that rocked Sumatra's west coast.

The largest quake, which occurred overnight Wednesday (New Zealand time), had a magnitude of 8.4 and was followed by others measuring up to 7.8. All occurred off the Bengkulu coast on the western side of Sumatra.

Six people have been confirmed dead, and scores injured. Casualty figures are likely to rise as further information comes in.

Several towns along the western coast of Bengkulu and West Sumatra province, the closest to the epicentres, reported collapsed houses and many buildings partly destroyed or suffering from cracks. Electricity in many parts of Sumatra has been down since the initial large quake.

"We are sending assessment teams to Bengkulu and West Sumatra today," said World Vision Indonesia National Director Trihadi Saptoadi.

"We hope they will be able to provide us with rapid assessment reports on the pressing needs on the ground."

Two relief staff are heading to Bengkulu and another two staff to Padang in west Sumatra, into remote areas that will take several hours to reach. The four are experienced relief operatives having handled previous emergency responses, including the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

World Vision emergencies assessment manager Jimmy Nadapdap said: "We are unsure about what conditions are like in the remote regions there. The assessment team will provide us with more information, enabling us to make an appropriate response."

ENDS

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