“International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is heading to Indonesia after a deadly tsunami struck the county’s coast.

The tsunami has already claimed close to 300 lives and it is feared scores of coastal villages could have been wiped off the map.

ShelterBox delivers emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies to families across the globe who have been affected by natural or manmade disasters. The aid is delivered in a large, green ShelterBoxes which each contain a disaster relief tent, water purification and storage equipment, blankets, a stove, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

A highly-trained ShelterBox Response Team, led by Mike Greenslade from Australia and Jodie Hurt from Cornwall, will be working alongside ShelterBox’s Indonesian affiliate to assess the affected area.

The tsunami was triggered by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck 20 kilometers beneath the ocean floor off the island of Sumatra. Reports say that the massive wave swept up to 600 meters inland in some places.

ShelterBox Head of Operations, John Leach, said: ‘We’re anticipating a large need for immediate emergency assistance in Sumatra and will do everything we can to get it there as quickly as possible.

‘Disasters can happen at anytime and strike anywhere. We’re currently operating in five other countries where there are huge numbers of families in need of our help.

‘Our job is to ensure these families are given all the help they need at a time when they really need it the most.’

At present ShelterBox is working in Haiti, Pakistan, Mexico, the Philippines and Benin, delivering emergency humanitarian aid to thousands of families who have lost their homes in disasters.” (ReliefWeb)

To view the original article, click here.

For more information on where ShelterBox has delivered aid in the last decade, go to www.shelterbox.org/deployments.php

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