Liquefied soil, brought about by the earthquake, destroyed thousands of buildings in and around Palu; satellite images of the Petobo district, south of Palu’s airport, showed a large area of urban development seemingly wiped clear of buildings. More than 2,100 people are confirmed dead and 82,000 displaced, with numbers set to rise as the humanitarian response to the disaster continues.
RedR has an existing presence in Indonesia, allowing for a quick response to the disaster. A team of 3 national RedR staff are currently in Palu responding to the crisis, supported by HQ staff who are operating between Jogja and Jakarta.
The earthquake caused significant damage to the water distribution pipelines in Palu and the surrounding area, and there is an urgent need to restore clean water supply services. RedR is collaborating with Unicef and the Indonesian Ministry of Public Work and Housing in the WASH cluster. Staff members are working in coordination and supply chain management within the cluster to help provide safe, clean drinking water to the affected population.
Meanwhile, other collaborations with the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the network of Oxfam partners and Save the Children are helping to clean up the vast amount of debris caused by the earthquake.