Second quake strikes Indonesia; needs rise in Samoa

Photo: REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper, courtesy www.alertnet.org

We've flown additional staff to the battered city of Padang, Indonesia, to distribute relief to survivors of successive earthquakes.

Just hours after a catastrophic 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island, already-devastated areas were shaken by another powerful tremor. The death toll has risen to more than 1,100 in cities like Padang, and thousands more are still trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

In Samoa, where a powerful tsunami swamped at least 20 villages, survivors are trying to cope with the sudden loss of their houses, belongings, businesses and loved ones.

We need your help to provide critical assistance to families who have lost everything.

We've flown additional staff to Padang, an Indonesian city of 900,000 people that has been wrecked by the successive quakes, and where our existing team is safe and accounted for. We expect to begin delivering temporary shelter supplies, bedding, hygiene kits and water to displaced families tomorrow. And more relief workers are on the way.

We're already laying the groundwork for a program that will pay a living wage to residents for clearing debris and rubble from streets — a recovery strategy that helped communities rebound in the wake of the 2004 tsunami.

Mercy Corps is also getting aid to survivors of the tsunami that struck the Samoan islands yesterday, killing at least 146 people. Hundreds are still missing, and dozens of coastal villages were flattened by the waves. We've partnered with a local organization that works with impoverished women to deliver relief to affected families.

As earthquakes continue to shake the Asia Pacific region, our teams are working hard to give families the help they need. We need your help to reach families in need. Thank you.

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