Java Mudslide Survivors Receive Needed Aid

As floodwaters recede, the local Catholic Church in Indonesia, with the support of Catholic Relief Services, continues to provide aid to families affected by the mudslides that hit Java on the morning of December 26.

Rescue workers use an excavator to search for bodies in the mud after landslides hit Karanganyar district. Photo by REUTERS/Andry Prasetyo

The Indonesian government announced that the flooding and landslides destroyed over 270,000 acres of agricultural lands. More than 150,000 homes have also been destroyed or damaged, forcing 350,000 people from their homes.

At least 99 people have been killed and 22 people are still missingm with the largest number of casualties found in Karanganyar district.

CRS, in coordination with the local church in Bojonegoro, is responding in Sragen, Ngawi and Bojonegoro regencies distributing blankets, mattresses, tarps and other items to affected families.

These mudslides came three years to the day after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck Indonesia. CRS launched a huge emergency relief operation after the Asian tsunami, and has also responded to smaller emergencies across the island nation including the Sumatran earthquakes in September 2007.

Catholic Relief Services has been working in Indonesia since 1957 helping rural communities alleviate human suffering, eradicate poverty and become self-reliant.