Indonesian floods leave 340,000 homeless
POSTED: February 7, 2007
By Sarah Pate
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OBI medical and relief teams load into rubber dinghies to bring relief to victims.
"I have lost everything," said Jayani, pictured here in front of his home.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia - After severe flooding submerged nearly half of Indonesia's capital city last Thursday, killing at least 44 and displacing more than 340,000, Operation Blessing relief teams have been working quickly to bring emergency food supplies and medical treatment to thousands.
Beginning last Friday, medical and relief teams loaded into medical vans, trucks and rubber dinghies and spread out across the city.
Nearly 4,000 emergency food packages and 2,300 bags of rice have been distributed to families left homeless by the floods, to date. Thousands of additional food packages are currently being assembled to reach an estimated 40,000 flood victims.
"I have lost everything," Jayani, 40, told Operation Blessing as teams arrived to his flooded home.
Jayani, a father of two, was forced to flee with his family to a refugee site and wait for help. He is one of thousands in this city of 12 million people who retreated to emergency shelters set up in government buildings, schools and mosques throughout the city.
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Thousands have fled their flooded home and retreated to refugee sites throughout the city.
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"The water rose so fast," said Zainal, 26. "People can only think about saving their life and leave everything else behind."
In addition to food packages, seven medical teams have been dispatched to 14 of the hardest hit areas – including refugee camps – where they have treated more than 2,500 residents for illnesses such as diarrhea, viral infections, skin diseases and respiratory problems.
Health officials say flood conditions also have the potential to spread malaria, dengue fever and the bird flu virus.
How You Can Help
You can take part in helping bring relief in real time to victims of disaster by making an online donation toward Operation Blessing's Indonesia Flood Relief fund.
With your support, OBI can continue to bring emergency food, water, and medical care to these flood victims and more who are caught in the midst of disaster.
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