Portland, OR \u2013 Mercy Corps staff have been working quickly and diligently to
respond to the devastation wrought by two enormous disasters in the Asia\u2010Pacific
region: the earthquakes on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the tsunami in the
Samoan Islands.

Two successive earthquakes struck western Indonesia last Wednesday, collapsing
markets, schools and other buildings, and causing mudslides that buried entire
villages in some parts of Sumatra. Indonesian officials report more than 600
confirmed deaths, and that number is likely to rise with thousands of people still
feared to be trapped under rubble.

Mercy Corps is leading the charge in coordinating relief efforts among a consortium
of seven humanitarian agencies on the ground. The US Agency for International
Development awarded Mercy Corps a $300,000 grant to continue this work.

Within 24 hours of the disaster, Mercy Corps established contact with their staff in
Padang, a major city near the epicenter of the quake, and immediately deployed
global emergency specialists to the site.

\u201cThe team here is amazing \u2014 truly dedicated,\u201d said Malka Older, Mercy Corps\u2019
director of programs in Indonesia, who has been directing the effort in Padang.
\u201cThey are working hard in the heat, and look slightly worse for the wear but are full
of spirit and eager to keep going on the response.\u201d

In the last few days, Older and her team have been working nearly round the clock
under tough conditions, coping with sporadic electricity, fuel shortages and
damaged roads. Members of the team have been fanning out to the areas that were
hardest hit by the earthquakes to assess the most pressing needs of devastated

Tomorrow, Mercy Corps will begin distributing construction and cleaning kits,
hygiene items and blankets to displaced families. In addition, the agency is working
with the local water company to ensure that they can distribute clean water by
tanker truck to residents of Padang.