CARE Ready to Respond to Latest Disaster in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (March 6, 2007) - CARE emergency teams are ready to deploy in response to two major earthquakes that struck the disaster-prone Indonesian island of Sumatra early Tuesday. Early news accounts report 70 killed and thousands displaced by the shocks, which flattened hundreds of buildings.

CARE, which has extensive networks of emergency staff already in the area responding to recent flooding in northern Sumatra and the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, is coordinating closely with the local authorities and other agencies in the affected areas to determine the extent of the response needed.

"So far, the information we have is that the situation is within the scope of the government's capabilities to respond," says Assistant Country Director Johan Kieft, who led CARE's emergency responses to the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006 and the recent floods in Jakarta and Aceh. "However, it is a remote area, and in similar events in the past such as last year's earthquake in Yogyakarta, casualty figures increased rapidly as more information flowed in. Our emergency team is ready to provide immediate assistance if needed."

CARE has more than 40 years of experience in providing emergency response in Indonesia.