UPDATED: December 26, 2018
At least 429 people have been killed and 1,485 injured in Indonesia after a tsunami hit coastal areas along the Sunda Strait on December 22, according to the country’s National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB). At least 16,082 people have been displaced and 154 are missing in the five districts affected by the tsunami (Pandeglang and Serang in Banten Province and Lampung Selatan, Tanggamus, and Pesawaran in Lampung Province). Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are in the affected area to provide support for local health interventions.
MSF has mobilized three teams in the area, with one team supporting the health center in Carita, a second team supporting the health center in Labuan—both in Pandeglang district—and a mobile team visiting various communities to treat injured patients unable to make it to a health facility.
At the two health centers in Pandeglang, one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami, MSF teams are augmenting the capacity of local health staff to care for injured patients. MSF teams are actively involved in case management, with severe cases being referred to area hospitals.
To date, 74 injured patients have been admitted to the Labuan health center and 66 have been discharged. While the affected areas are slowly beginning to recover, many streets remain blocked, making it difficult to access local health centers. Our team in Carita was unable to reach the health center on December 26 after heavy rains resulted in flooding. Medical coordination with the health center's staff was conducted via phone calls. As of December 25, 99 injured patients had been admitted to the center and released after treatment.