HTML version by Oleksandr Svirchevskyy

WHO STAFF IN INDONESIA:
WORKING DESPITE THE FLOODS

Since Friday, staff have braved many challenges the least of which was making the journey to the office in a city which is more than 60% flooded and with public transportation heavily affected.

Prior to the flood, WHO Indonesia had prepositioned emergency health kits, trauma kits and diarrhoea kits. These supplies are proving vital for a displaced population whose needs include clean water, food, blankets and shelter.

“The focus now is on strengthening surveillance and disease control. We are working very closely with the Indonesian Ministry of Health and the Jakarta Health Centre on improving disease surveillance and at the same time active control teams are following up.”says Dr Vijay Nath Kyaw Win, who is helping to coordinate the emergency response.

“There is a need to strengthen public information. We need to give the public the right information to ensure people can protect themselves and so we can control unnecessary outbreaks of disease.”

Meanwhile, staff have personally faced the floods. Michel Tomaszek, logistician and acting focal point for security, first learned of the rising waters when he was awakened by a phone call in the middle of the night on the 2nd of February. It was a colleague on duty travel who had just received a call from his wife in Jakarta. She was sitting on a water tank in the garden of the family home, as water was pouring into their house. Michel jumped into action, rushing to the staff member’s house in a four wheel drive vehicle to help evacuate the family to a safe place.

The following day the rain and the rescues continued. Of the more than 110 staff normally working, only a handful were able to make it to the office. Much of the day was spent evacuating some of their colleagues to dry land to stay with relatives or friends until the floodwaters recede. WHO vehicles have also helped to evacuate families from other UN agencies which did not have four wheel drive vehicles.

Each day this week, despite the continued rain, more and more staff have managed to make it to the office, but they are watching the situation closely.

“Recently we renewed the system in the office for emergencies. Wardens were appointed and trained. Everyone has maps of their districts with contact points. When the floods hit, the staff that were affected knew who to contact for help. Luckily, even though landlines were down, the mobile phone network continued to function. The floods are like a real exercise for our office and it seems like it is working quite well.” says Sari Setiogi, communications officer in the Jakarta office.

The WHO staff in Jakarta is better prepared than most. Many of them received emergency training in 2002 when floodwaters previously threatened the city. They were informed about emergency procedures, the importance of using clean drinking water and avoiding electric lines if they were down in the floodwaters. Still Tomaszek refuses to drop his guard.

“With the rain continuing to fall, we are checking the situation hour by hour. We have put more four wheel drive vehicles on standby. We talked to staff again, reminding them of emergency procedures and have told them, if water rises, don’t hesitate to move to a safe place,” says Michel Tomaszek.

It might sound logical, but already several dozen in Jakarta have died often by drowning or electrocution.

More rain fell overnight and according to the weather forecast there’s even more to come. For now cleanup is starting slowly, with an eye on the sky.