International engineering charity RedR has sent an additional engineer and additional resources to earthquake-hit Indonesia.
In late September, a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked central Sulawesi in Indonesia, killing more than 2,100 people and displacing an estimated 82,000 further people.
And with the rainy season looming, the charity claims survivors housed in camps are vulnerable.
RedR has an existing presence in Indonesia, allowing for a quick response to the disaster. RedR engineers were quickly dispatched to the affected areas to assist in rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure, especially water systems, which were hard hit in the quake.
The three RedR engineers on the ground in Central Sulawesi are working closely with Unicef and the Indonesian Ministry of Public Work and Housing as well as the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the network of Oxfam partners and Save the Children.
A RedR spokesperson told New Civil Engineer that staff on the ground in Palu are reporting that the affected population is still “traumatised by the disaster”. With the rainy season approaching, survivors who have had their homes and lives devastated by the earthquake and are living in camps are now increasingly vulnerable.
RedR is now preparing to send an additional team member to Indonesia to train national staff in camp management and coordination, as the start of the rainy season becons.
RedR UK chief executive Martin McCann said support from UK engineers was vital in RedR’s work.
“RedR is well placed to respond to this emergency with national staff already on the ground and with the engineering expertise needed to meet the urgent Shelter and WaSH needs of affected communities,” he said. “Our ability to respond to this disaster is directly related to the support that we get from the UK engineering community.”
RedR UK is an international charity that builds the knowledge and skills of individuals and organisations for more effective humanitarian action. They train aid workers, provide operational expertise to humanitarian organisations through their members and technical advice, and support state actors to be more effective across the whole disaster cycle.
