After last year’s tsunami disaster, DNV’s Marte Ness joined the Red Cross rescue team in Banda Aceh as a water expert.
Following the signing of DNV’s partnership with the Red Cross, geologist Marte Ness was soon appointed as one of DNV’s water experts. Inspired by this new experience she took her engagement one step further as she in December became a Red Cross rescue worker, prepared to leave on 72-hours notice the next time a disaster struck.
It took 20 days: on 26 December the biggest natural catastrophe the world has ever seen took place when the giant tsunami spread out from the epicentre of an earthquake off Sumatra. In such situations, access to water is very often a problem and, as a geologist, her typical job would be to recommend where to dig or drill for water, as well as water quality testing.
Early in the new year, Marte Ness left Oslo together with a team of 35 experienced Red Cross rescue workers to set up and run a field hospital in Banda Aceh, Sumatra. The hospital could hold 100 patients and had its own helipad.
“It was quite unreal; as we’ve all seen on TV there was nothing left of the city. Everything was completely flat, with soldiers and dead people everywhere,” she says.
Establishing water supply
At the hospital she became responsible for water and sanitation. She physically established the hospital’s water-supply pipeline system: coupled pipes, drove the truck, took care of sanitation issues, and made the tap stations and pumps work. Purified water arrived in a large tank lorry every day and was transferred to the hospital’s water tank for further distribution from there.
“My task was to ensure clean water to the hospital, and also to handle sanitary matters such as latrines and waste handling,” she says. After taking only a few days to erect, the hospital could treat all kinds of patients. Many had trouble with their lungs after swallowing dirty seawater.
“It was impressive. The Red Cross personnel were so professional, hard-working and so nice to be with,” says Marte Ness.
Indescribable fates
As the hospital started admitting patients, all their stories emerged and these made a deep impression on Marte Ness.
“The whole place was filled with indescribable fates. Everyone was hard hit, having lost their loved ones. They all had stories one wouldn’t think were possible,” says Marte Ness, who is grateful she could contribute to the relief work. Her five weeks in Banda Aceh only made her more motivated for further efforts in the future.
Later she has been appointed responsible for the development of new water projects on behalf of the Norwegian Red Cross. She will be spending six months partly at the Norwegian Red Cross’ headquarters in Oslo, and partly at different sites in Sumatra.