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Add to Preferred SourcesOn October 19, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency delivered 435 emergency tents to Balikpapan, Indonesia, for onward distribution to families made homeless by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi. A total of 1,305 tents will be delivered within the course of the next few days.
Further aid, including more emergency tents, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and solar lamps, is set to be delivered in the coming weeks.
The tents were handed over to Indonesian authorities in Balikpapan who assisted with delivering the tents to neighboring Sulawesi Island. There they will be distributed by UNHCR’s partners on the ground, Indonesia Red Cross (PMI/Palang Merah Indonesia) and Yayasan Kemanusiaan Muslim Indonesia (YMKI/ Indonesian Muslim Humanitarian Foundation).
An official assessment from the Indonesia National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) estimates that around 68,000 houses have been damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, while some 80,000 people have become internally displaced as a result. This initial consignment will help to provide much needed shelter to around 6,500 of the most vulnerable affected.
Earlier, a UNHCR team travelled to Palu in Central Sulawesi, one of the areas most affected by the earthquake and tsunami, to coordinate with local government counterparts and partners, and make advanced preparations.
In Petobo and Balaroa, the twin disasters churned the areas into mud. Many people have not only lost their home, but even the land on which it once stood.
Original source: UNHCR
Published on 19 October 2018