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By Kanupriya Kapoor and Rozanna Latiff
PALU, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian health workers are struggling to care for tens of thousands of people displaced by an earthquake and tsunami. The lack of shelter and clean water is one of the main problems at the present time.
The official record of an earthquake and tsunami of magnitude 7.5 on 28 September has been increased to 2,010, mainly in Palu, a small coastal town that has been hit hard by the disaster. More than 10,000 people were injured.
About 70,000 people have been displaced and many live in rough and plastic shelters recovered in Palu and the surrounding hills.
"Frankly, we do not have the capacity to organize and focus our efforts at the moment," said Dr. Jumriani, health services manager at the provincial department of health, in a tent set up in front of the hospital. his office devastated by the earthquake.
"The evacuation camps are scattered everywhere, as are our volunteers," she said.
The white boards in his tent were full of figures on various medical cases in different areas.
"Initially, we were mainly dealing with injuries. Now, our main concerns are diarrhea, influenza, skin diseases, mainly because of lack of drinking water and exposure, "she said.
A plan to relocate IDPs to more organized communities is being developed and the National Disaster Reduction Organization is seeking 10,000 tents.
For the time being, the displaced are piling up in tarpaulin camps along the roads, most of them without any proper latrine, among fly-blown garbage piles. Where temporary toilets are available, dozens of people depend on them.
"We have enough supplies, there is food and water, but many children have started getting diarrhea and flu," said Megawati, 31, while she rocked his baby in a sarong hanging on wooden beams holding a plastic sheet.
With the rainy season scheduled for next month, it was essential to improve conditions as quickly as possible, said Samuel Carpenter, Humanitarian Adviser at the UK Government's Department of International Development.
"The immediate concern is shelter and water-borne and vector-borne diseases," Carpenter told Reuters in Palu.
"We must prepare for epidemics."
Indonesia has always been reluctant to accept international aid, but has approved overseas assistance to deal with the disaster, including water purification systems. But he declined foreign medical aid, claiming that he is able to handle it himself.
"CASES BY CASE"
The earthquake destroyed much of Palu's water supply system, which will take several months to repair, said city official TM Nazar.
Much of the city uses trucks to deliver water.
"Sanitation remains a major concern," said Nazar.
A volunteer doctor, among many others from Indonesia to help, estimated that around 40 per cent of the displaced people were suffering from diarrhea, most of whom were children under six years old.
Drugs and equipment have been imported from provincial offices and medical posts have been created, but the services are random, said doctor Fauzan Abdul Hadi.
"At the moment, we are dealing with things on a case-by-case basis, and I have not heard anything from the government about systematic medical assistance," he said.
A naval hospital ship, made up of more than 30 doctors and five operating rooms, moored at Palu and provided rescue services, particularly to the wounded from the ruins of collapsed buildings .
Many were brought with infected wounds, said Heru Setianto, an anesthetist aboard the KRI Dr. Soeharso.
"Many patients were not found quickly and their infections became so severe that they had to be operated immediately," he said.
A woman stuck in the mud for more than a day next to her dead grandmother spoke about her bed on the hospital ship.
"It would be difficult without that because the health clinics are full," said Nur Amalia, 23, who was injured in her feet and was infected.
(Edited by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)
