Round-up: Updates from Beirut, Paris and Indonesia

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
 
BEIRUT: On November 12, a deadly double-explosion rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut. Lebanese Red Cross has stated that 43 people were killed and at least 239 were injured, many of whom are in a critical condition.  Immediately after the blasts hit the Burj Al Barajneh area in southern Beirut, Lebanese Red Cross dispatched 60 responders and 12 ambulances to the scene to provide assistance to the wounded. Volunteers of the National Society transferred the seriously wounded to nearby hospitals in the capital and also provided first aid services to those whose injuries did not require hospitalization.

PARIS: On November 13, Paris was hit by a series of unprecedented terror attacks. After multiple, simultaneous shootings and explosions in the centre of the capital city and around the Stade de France left at least 120 dead and 200 injured, volunteers and staff of the French Red Cross were immediately at work aiding those affected.

More than 340 Red Cross volunteers were deployed and worked throughout the night to support the survivors of the attacks. The teams also helped at the reception and psychosocial support centres, which were set up at the Hotel Dieu hospital as well as in the local town hall. Red Cross volunteers also supported the call centres established by the Foreign Ministry and participated in the information cell set up by the police.
 
INDONESIA: In recent weeks, long awaited monsoon rains have finally helped to extinguish a large portion of the devastating forest fires that have been raging in Indonesia for the past three months. The fires, caused by Palm oil and paper pulp companies and smallholder farmers illegally setting fire to forests to clear land to plant more trees, have had a devastating cost on the regions environment, economy and on human health. The burning of 2.1 million hectares of forests and other land has caused 21 deaths and led to more than 500,000 falling ill with respiratory problems.

The Indonesian Red Cross deployed over 600 volunteers, to provide humanitarian support to affected communities in Kalimantan and Sumatra, with water tankers, ambulances and water purification units and also distributed thousands of face masks. A three month emergency response operations plan from November to January 2016 included the establishment of emergency houses, also known as “smoke-free facilities” which are equipped with air purifiers. These centres cater particularly to vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly by providing first aid, basic symptomatic treatment, health education, psycho-social support and referral to health facilities. Red Cross medical teams are also providing mobile health services for people in remote areas.