Quakes Rock Sumatra, Indonesia

Thursday, September 13, A.D. 2007

The second earthquake in as many days struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra earlier today. The magnitude 7.8 quake followed the magnitude 8.4 quake that hit Wednesday. Telephone and electric lines were disrupted across the island, making damage assessments and casualty information difficult to obtain.

[Note: A third quake has just struck in Indonesia - this one near Sulawesi on the eastern side of the archipelago.]

Church World Service-Indonesia has two field offices in Sumatra and is in contact with its two Action by Churches Together Indonesian partners. Week of Compassion is expecting an assessment report and possible appeal from CWS in the next few days.

CWS and its ACT partners in Indonesia continue to respond to the December 26, 2004 magnitude 9 quake and tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Sumatra’s Aceh province.

These quakes are just the latest in a series of significant disasters and ensuing humanitarian crises that have occurred across the world in recent weeks, including hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Pacific, a major quake in Peru, and serious flooding across several southern Asia countries as well as in several U.S. Midwestern states. In the past 74 days since July 1, WOC has responded to 65 appeals for disaster relief and recovery.

Humberto Sneaks Ashore in Texas and Louisiana

Hurricane Humberto developed overnight in the Gulf of Mexico and quickly came ashore in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana – areas still recovering from the damages two years ago caused by Hurricane Rita. Week of Compassion is making contact with pastors whose congregations and communities might be affected. Disciples already have hurricane recovery mission stations working in Beaumont/Pt Arthur, TX and Lake Charles, LA.

Quake Relief and Recovery Efforts Continue in Peru

Members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International in Peru are continuing their response following last month’s magnitude 8.0 earthquake. More than 500 people were killed and nearly 35,000 families were affected, mostly by the loss of their homes. The ACT members in Peru – PREDES, Diaconia and Lutheran World Relief – are coordinating their efforts to provide temporary shelter, emergency food kits, psycho-social care and other relief aid to the most vulnerable families in some of the hardest hit communities. Week of Compassion has already made initial grants in response to the quake and is readying an additional grant to a forthcoming appeal from ACT.

La Casita Project Underway at SWGSM

As we begin the second year of the two-year Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative, Disciples work groups are needed to support the recovery and rebuilding work out of the seven Disciples mission stations situated across the Gulf South. One of those stations is located at Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries (SWGSM) in Los Fresnos, TX. A special initiative – La Casita Project – is building small (200 square foot) homes for impoverished Mexican families in Matamoras. SWGSM is hoping to build 12 homes by the end of the year and another 20-30 in 2008. While the homes are small and simple, they are a significant improvement to homes beneficiaries have been living in – indeed, in their words, the new homes are “little palaces.” For more information visit the SWGSM website.

WOC Map/Poster

Click here for the latest additions to the WOC interactive map/poster. For a complimentary copy of the map/poster for your congregation, call the office at 317.713.2442 or send an e-mail to ecleveland@woc.disciples.org.