Mount Agung Emergency Response Phase Four

THE PROBLEM

On November 25, Mount Agung moved into a magmatic erUption phase after several phreatic eruptions. On Monday, November 27, the status of the volcano was raised to Level 4 or Awas, triggering evacuations within an 8-10km zone. Approximately 100,000 people will need to leave their homes and go to evacuation centers. The ash cloud has reached 7,600 meter high and ash falls has been reported in many villages and regions of Bali.

The status of Mount Agung is evolving, as are the needs of the evacuees still in the evacuation centers. Our community effort coordinated by Kopernik, IDEP Foundation, Bumi Sehat, Rio Helmi, Rucina Ballinger and the Green School Parents will continue to provide the sUpplies and sUpport needed and will continue to focus on education and disaster preparedness.

Please note that due to the evolving nature of this emergency, we will be using the funds raised to meet the immediate needs of the evacuees, while respirator masks are the priority today, this may change in the next coUple of days.

THE SOLUTION

We are connecting general supplies and N95 Particulate Respirator Masks to families affected by the volcano’s activity. Falling ash can be acidic and cause irritation of the eyes, skin, and lungs. It is common to see respiratory problems in those affected by falling ash, particularly the very young and elderly, or those with preexisting respiratory problems like asthma. The people living in the affected region require effective N95 face masks¹ and eye goggles to protect them from these risks.

¹ International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN). (2018). Protection From Breathing Ash. Retrieved from https://www.ivhhn.org/ash-protection

THE EXPECTED IMPACT

All supplies and equipment will be distributed for free.

THE PROJECT RESULT

Kopernik coordinated with IDEP Foundation, Bumi Sehat, Rio Helmi, Rucina Ballinger and the Green School parents under the Mount Agung Relief consortium to quickly respond to the needs of those affected by Mount Agung’s increased volcanic activity. The team coordinated closely with other NGOs, government bodies, other civil society initiatives and generous, concerned citizens in Bali, Indonesia and worldwide.

MAR’s core focus was to provide a rapid response to immediate needs for evacuees who didn’t have access to basic supplies and disaster management information. This included, among others, providing access to drinking water through the distribution of water filters, in addition to providing N95 masks, establishing a cash for food programme, and distributing “family buckets” that consisted of, among others, personal hygiene and first aid kits, cooking equipment and utensils, shelter kits, baby and infant supplies, and adult cloths. We also organized training activities on disaster preparedness, livelihoods as well as water filter maintenance and cleaning.

The Mount Agung Emergency Response raised a total of $133,693 from 912 donors. We also received a large number of in-kind donations, such as food, tarps and N95 respirator masks. This included a donation of 15,000 children masks from the Body Shop and Air Line Pilots Association Singapore that were flown in from Singapore as children’s masks were not readily available in Indonesia.

We delivered more than 40 truckloads of critical supplies, such as hygiene kits, food, blankets, sleeping mats, tarpaulins, and other items. A total of 576 water filter were distributed to 102 evacuation points, reaching 9,216 individuals with basic water supply for drinking and food preparation of around 3.6 liters/day. 55,095 N95 respirator masks were distributed across 52 evacuation points, including 34,885 adult masks pieces – to benefit an estimated 8,721 adults – and 20,120 children masks – benefiting an estimated 5,053 children.

Through IDEP Media and IDEP Foundation, we distributed solar light and television kits with disaster preparedness education materials to seven evacuee camps, benefiting 371 individuals. Together with local coordinators, MAR built 26 toilets and two bathrooms at three evacuation points in Les, Tianyar Timur and Amed.

In the Cash for Food program, we provided financial support of 15 million rupiah for evacuee coordinators to purchase nutritional one-week packages that consisted of vegetables, eggs, and dry fish for 123 households, or 492 individuals, across three evacuation location points in Sibetan sub-district.

The relief effort reached 17,173 households, or 68,697 individuals, consisting of both adults and children, across 184 evacuation points in four regencies (Karangasem, Klungkung, Bangli and Buleleng).