Indonesia

Indonesia is a nation of more than 17,000 islands spanning the South Pacific and Indian Ocean along some of the world’s busiest sea routes. The Indonesian archipelago is highly active geologically, making it unusually vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Indonesia suffered greater damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami than any other country. It also lost more lives, with an estimated 160,000 Indonesians among the more than 220,000 killed in the disaster.

International Medical Corps first deployed to Indonesia in 2000, when we established an emergency healthcare program in North Maluku. We then expanded to other areas following crises in Maluku, West and Central Kalimantan, Madura Island, North and Central Sulawesi, and North Sumatra. In 2004, International Medical Corps was among the first international relief organizations to reach Indonesia’s hard-hit Aceh region following the giant Indian Ocean tsunami. We provided a broad range of healthcare services—including emergency medicine, trauma surgery, and maternal and child health—in some of the worst-hit communities of that disaster, which claimed approximately 230,000 lives across the Indian Ocean region.

International Medical Corps currently is in Indonesia supporting response efforts following a series of powerful earthquakes that struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on September 28, 2018. The largest quake, a powerful magnitude 7.4, shook the region at 5:02 p.m. local time, triggering a tsunami that hit nearby coastlines, including the coastal city of Palu. Indonesia’s National Board of Disaster Management (BNPB) estimates that 2.4 million people were affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Many thousands of buildings collapsed or were subsumed, more than 2,200 people died, and almost 6,000 were severely injured or deemed missing. Needs for those affected by the disasters included shelter, clean water, food, fuel, medicines and medical personnel, and psychosocial support.