October 10 - 19: Padang Earthquake
Added to site: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
The present relief work has highlighted a problem with our Troppodoc communications ! Following are messages extracted from various emails and texts Derek has sent as he has been able to find communication sites that work (mainly through borrowed time on friends laptops). To do his work in the field and stay in touch Derek is in urgent need of an up grade of his existing communications equipment (laptop and cellphone) . It doesn’t have to be top of the range equipment but it does need peripherals to work in a range of countries and most importantly be robust and lightweight . If any one would like to donate funds or the equipment itself please contact roger@troppodoc.com so that we can plan a cost effective upgrade. Yes a satellite phone would be fantastic but the operational costs would be prohibitive ..but all suggestions are welcome
10/10/09
We are in Padang and visiting villages devastated by the earthquake, some villages are 60 % flattened. There are so many people shattered by the shake and of course the medical system here is very sparse, especially at this time.
17/10/09
Hi Roger, just a short update as e mail access is limited; The team
of Tony, Winsome, Jan, John and Derek are travelling every 2 days into
the mountains where the worst earthquake damage is to residential
houses. We are sleeping under a tarpaulin and seeing many people with
disease secondary to the earthquake with infected cuts and abrasions,
fear, anxiety, insomnia depression. These are people who have lost
family, and houses and of course no insurance and no savings or
resources to rebuild. Psychological healing of survivors is going to be slow especially in areas where
hundreds of people are missing under landslides and are likely never
to have their bodies recovered.
The area with greatest damage is 3.5 hours drive from Padang, food
and clean water is scarce and there are so many cracks in the ground,
that when the rain comes, the fear of further enormous landslides
increases exponentially. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of
houses are destroyed and so many are in a very unsafe position with
people sitting under them, for shelter at night or in daytime rains.
Derek
18/10/09
Message to Derek and team
Our thoughts are with the Troppodoc team and all the people of Padang and affected outlying areas
Derek replies
we are seeing up to 120 earthquake victims per day with free medicine in badly hit areas in
the hills to the east of Pariaman. Thank you for your support, Derek
19/10/09
Hi Roger, thanks for copying me on update to Sabidee. How is the troppodoc webpage progressing ??? Thanks for letter to Raymond. Just back from long clinic on edge of landslide that claimed numerous lives; 110 people seen and treated returned to Padang for meeting and then back up there. More people waiting to be seen and treated. Cheers, Derek