UN Secretary General António Guterres pauses during his visit at the earthquake-devastated neighbourhood of Balaroa in Palu city. (Source: AP) Jakarta (VNA) –Leaders of the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB) on October 12 visitedIndonesia’s Central Sulawesi province which was stricken by earthquakes and a tsunamilast month.
They included UN Secretary General António Guterres, WB CEOKristalina Georgieva, representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) andIndonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The seniorofficials toured Palu city, which included visits to the survivors living inshelters and the injured victims who received treatment in tents set up inAnutapura Hospital, which sustained damage after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake andsubsequent tsunami hit the region on September 28.
They alsovisited the ruins of the Perumnas housing complex in Balaroa, one of twosubdistricts along with Petobo in Palu city that were destroyed by soilliquefaction.
During thevisit to Balaroa, Guterres expressed his condolences, while applauding the rapidand effective response led by the Indonesian government.
Georgievaechoed Guterres’ sentiment, saying that she admired and respected the survivorsaffected by the disaster as well as the Indonesian government, which remainedtough in overcoming the catastrophe.
Nearly79,000 evacuees are still living in 112 evacuation sites in the province. Someof the evacuees, whose houses were only lightly damaged, are able to returnhome but refuse to do so for fear of aftershocks.
Georgievasaid the WB was ready to assist the government in the reconstruction ofinfrastructure and homes that were damaged in the disaster.
As thefirst phase of financial assistance, the bank has delivered 5 million USD tothe Indonesian government, Georgieva said.
Kalla saidduring the period, the authorities will prioritise the fulfillment oflogistics, medical and clean water supplies for the survivors, adding that theconstruction of temporary housing will follow soon and is expected to becompleted in a maximum of two months.
The government will establish a task forcecomprising relevant institutions, including the Public Works and HousingMinistry and the local government, to handle the rehabilitation andreconstruction phase, Kalla said.
Meanwhile,volunteers from Central Java have begun to build 100 temporary homes forsurvivors who lost their houses in the soil liquefaction in Petobo. The 20square meter buildings will be built of light steel in areas unaffected by theliquefaction.
Thenatural disasters have to date left 2,073 people dead and about 5,000 othersmissing, and made nearly 90,000 homeless.
The same day, the WB launched a new 150million USD fund intended to help insure vulnerable countries against naturaldisasters and the increasing risk of climate change-linked crises.
The announcement follows a string ofrecent natural disasters across the world including record storms and a seriesof deadly quakes in Indonesia, where the Bank and IMF are currentlymeeting.
The Global Risk Financing Facility(GRiF), set up with money from Germany and Britain, will finance the creationof disaster insurance and other risk mechanisms so funds are availableimmediately when crises hit. -VNA
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