SITUATION REPORT

Medical team second visit to the Sinabang Hospital.
Surgical Kit from WHO is not urgently needed but they have space to
store it in the tents. 10,000 person IDA medical kit should remain
aboard as they have no space and have already received several kits.
Will clear this with WHO BA.

Request from the Head of Dinas Kesehatan, Dr Tagwallah for Batavia to
support medical assessment and field clinics in the following
Subregions:
Teupah Barat, 18 villages 1,597 families 6951 population
Simeulue Tengah, 24 villages 2,211 families 9431 population
Salang, 16 villages 1,718 villages 7,912 population
Totals 58 villages 5,526 families 24,294 population

Only the southern 9 villages in Teupah Barat have received any medical
help since the quake on the 28th March. Some non-medical assessment
teams have reached the central coast on motorbike and report IDPs are
all in hills and some have fractures and injuries that are not being
treated.

Dr Tagwallah later met with the BUPATI, Drs Darmili and arranged for a
formal letter approving our mission to the West Coast areas defined
above.

Save the Children took delivery of own material sent from Banda Aceh
stores :
This aid includes:
140 Wheelbarrows
81 Tarps
300 Pickaxe
300 Mattock
600 Handle
300 Shovels
150 Boxes Detol soap
40 Childrens recreation kit
67 Floor mats.

Save the Children then re-assigned the following material for ELM to
distribute to the West coast villages we are planning to visit.
Material assigned:
3 Recreational Kits
18 Tarps
90 Boxes Detol soap (damaged by rain before loading Kurent Raya)

ELM assigned 25 PCI tents to Save the Children for distribution in
Sinabang township.

OB, MPI & NWM Medical teams visited IDP camps on hill tops around town.
General conclusions are:
- Health and nutrition generally adequate.

- Shelter issues are directly related to fear of a predicted tsunami.

- A proportion of wooden houses are repairable or habitable but the
trauma of the quake will keep people from returning. April 19th has
been quoted as a date after which people might return to their house.
No one can say why that date is significant.

- Surviving masonry houses and structures are unsafe. Reinforced
concrete beams and columns are damaged beyond repair at corners,
post/beam intersections and cement block wall infill is cracked and
unstable. Aftershocks are causing panels of masonry to fall and this
will continue. These buildings must be demolished and that is a huge
and dangerous task.

- The perception that the ocean has receded is the cause of great fear.
It is very hard to explain the difference between what has happened on
the 28th of March and what happened on the 26th of December. The
Simeulue people have a strong oral tradition that dictates quake and
tsunami response. This tradition is based on a catastrophic tsunami in
1907 that killed many thousands on the island. The reason that the Dec
26th death toll was so low in Simeulue is a direct result of this oral
tradition or adat and now it is the reason that village people refuse
to return to their villages and houses near the shoreline. See this as
a major problem for health and relief workers to deal with.Tthe fact
that the population were better prepared to deal with both the quakes
and the tsunami has resulted in far lower death toll than on Nias.
Damage to infrastructure in non-urban areas is very serious in
Simeulue.

1800 Attended UN coordination meeting at Save the Children tent.
- Telkomsel service has resumed (no Mentari)
- SMAK have resumed flights to Simeulue twice per day.
- WFP 300tons of food will arrive 7th April
- Irish seismological stories are being taken seriously by all and
emergency measures in place for all NGOs to evacuate to high ground.
- Several long span bridges are down in Alafan, Salang and at Dihit?
- CARE Water treatment equipment has arrived but no technicians avail
to install yet. Hopefully tomorrow.
- General concern about West Coast area as no health work or supplies
to that area since the quake.

NWM team examined the 4yo with the swollen head and determined that the
child needed scanning and a shunt to drain pressure from cranial
cavity. Beyond any facilities in Sinabang and not appropriate for US
Mercy. Child will require a long period of outpatient monitoring and
possibly a long initial observation period after the shunt is fitted
and this all best done in Medan or other larger hospital. Decision
should be made by the main hospital. Not a life threatening condition.

Surf Aid International took delivery of 20 PCI tents for distribution
to North Simeulue villages.

Following a formal request by PEMDA, SATKORLAK took delivery of 25 CARE
tents for distribution in Sinabang. A request for wheelbarrows and
shovels was referred to Save the Children as they have a large stock
and intend to support cleanup work in the town.

We experienced several strong aftershocks that shook the ship and
caused wave action in the harbor basin.