Earthquake wizardry

The silver lining in Yogyakarta is that the area is already well served by charities helping out at the nearby Mt Merapi volcano (satellite map showing how close they are) and those doing tsunami reconstruction on neighbouring Sumatra.

The UN's ReliefWeb is the site to watch in these situations. It already carries yesterday's Situation Report which lists the national and international responses. Examples of what the commercial news reports are missing:

• The Indonesian Department of Social Affairs already has tents and field kitchens in place.
• Medical staff from UK charity Merlin appear to have moved fastest, having already flown to the area on commercial flights.
• There's already been a meeting of 23 international organisations (at the Aceh centre) to co-ordinate the response.
• The Red Cross, Red Crescent, Islamic Relief and Merlin are flying in two tonnes of medical supplies this afternoon.
• A large multi-agency mission with the usual suspects (World Health Organisation, UN, World Food Programme, CARE) are driving to the city today.

Click here for a list of the charities already there