Emergency Assistance for the Earthquake Disaster in Papua Province, Indonesia

February 8, 2004

The Government of Japan decided on February 8 (Sun) to provide emergency assistance in kind (blankets, tents, electricity generators) worth about 13 million yen in total to the Government of Indonesia for the earthquake disaster in the province of Papua, Indonesia.
At around 6:05 a.m. on February 6 (same time in Japan) an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit Papua province, followed by another of magnitude 7.1 around 11:42 a.m. on the 7th, resulting in a disaster including 26 persons killed, 20 to 30 thousand people afflicted and about 1200 houses destroyed.
The Government of Indonesia, which has been making efforts, such as distributing food and dispatching doctors, on its own to restore the situation, requested assistance from Japan as the people affected are forced to take shelter in uncomfortable surroundings.
The Government of Japan has, therefore, decided to extend the emergency assistance for the afflicted people in light of the humanitarian point of view and the friendly relations between Japan and Indonesia.

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