Jogja City

While Caritas Australia, the overseas aid and development agency for the Catholic Church, continues to respond to the victims of the Yogyakarta earthquake in Central Java, Indonesia, the agency prepares for another emergency, as the Mt Merapi volcano moves closer to full eruption.

Latest reports indicate that Mt Merapi has increased its activity, with some reports that the dome of the volcano is tilting south towards Yogyakarta, 25 kilometers away.

Caritas Australia is part of the international Caritas network, a confederation of 162 Catholic aid agencies. The Caritas network were already in Central Java at the time of the quake, in the event of displacement of the people living in the surrounding regions of the erupting Mt Merapi volcano.

“As the already devastated region of Yogyakarta prepares for the impending eruption, the Caritas network is in position to respond and assist the displaced,” said Jack de Groot, Chief Executive Officer of Caritas Australia.

“Caritas Australia has made an initial contribution of USD $50,000 to support the work of our partner agencies on the ground in Yogyakarta, in response to the Mt Merapi volcano and the earthquake emergencies,” he said.

Caritas Australia is working with Catholic network partners in Yogyakarta, including the Crisis and Reconciliation Center of the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), who continue to carry out assessments and coordination of aid on the ground in the affected regions.

Following the quake, 46,000 homes have been confirmed damaged and an estimated 230,000 are reported to be displaced in five regions of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta province in Central Java.

The Caritas network continues to liaise closely with the Government of Indonesia, the UN and the other international NGOs in the affected region.

“The Indonesian Government coordination bodies are not coping well with the relief efforts at present, following the earthquake and the imminent eruption of Merapi, with limited resources on hand to respond to both emergencies. The Government’s focus is on medical assistance, but there is still an urgent need for clean drinking water as well as blankets,” said Mr de Groot.

“We are continuing to work through the extensive Catholic Church network in Indonesia, which enables our partners to carry out needs assessments in the affected areas and identify the most appropriate aid,” he said.

Caritas Australia is accepting donations to assist the victims of the Indonesia Earthquake and the Mt Merapi volcanic eruption. Donations can be made by phoning 1800 024 413, posting cheques/money orders to GPO BOX 9830 in your capital city, or online at www.caritas.org.au.

For further media information please contact Veena Rajan on 0417 284 831