An Oxfam Emergency Response Team is in place in Indonesia to provide assistance following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of Java on Wednesday night NZ time.

Oxfam's local partner organisations in Indonesia are in the field helping to assess the damage caused by the earthquake, and what assistance is required.

"We are immediately providing emergency shelter supplies for 1000 families who have been worst hit by the earthquake, and we have more emergency supplies ready to be deployed quickly if needed," Oxfam's Indonesia Humanitarian Programme Manager Sbastien Fesneau said.

"Oxfam has a very experienced emergency response team (ERT) in Indonesia that has responded to more than 30 emergencies since it was set up in 2006, in the wake of the 2004 tsunami." At the same time, Oxfam and partners BMP-Jakarta and SPP-Tasikmalaya are assessing what people need in terms of other essentials such as water, sanitation and food.

"We are also working closely with the Government and other agencies to ensure that the immediate needs of the most vulnerable groups, in particular those of women and children, will be addressed, in accordance with humanitarian principles and standards and in a way which enables the speediest return to their normal way of life" Mr Fesneau said.

Reports are that 57 people have been killed in the quake, with more than 400 injured and thousands of homes damaged. The most affected areas are in Tasikmalaya and Garut districts.

International aid agency Oxfam has worked in Indonesia for more than 50 years.