25 Jun 2010

Indonesia Yapen quake death toll rises to 22

3:39 pm on 25 June 2010

The death toll on the West Papuan island of Yapen following a series of strong earthquakes in Indonesia last week has risen to 22.

The International Red Cross says the about 150 people who were seriously injured are receiving medical treatment at a hospital on the island and others with moderate injuries are being treated at home.

The head of the Indonesian Red Cross delegation, Bob McKerrow, says about 2,700 families in eight sub districts have been affected.

"Eight sub districts gives an idea, it's scattered over quite a large area and very sparsely populated, I think the total population is 12,000 families so one third of those families are affected. So it's quite a serious disaster in terms of number of people affected."

Bob McKerrow says people have enough food for now but the Red Cross is working to restore water sanitation and electricity.