Indonesia quake kills 97 people
MEUREUDU // An earthquake that struck a mainly-Muslim region of western Indonesia yesterday killed 97 people with more feared dead as rescuers scrabbled through rubble in search of survivors.
The shallow 6.5- magnitude quake struck the Pidie Jaya district of Aceh province at dawn as many in the Sumatra island region prepared for morning prayers.
“So far, 97 people have been killed and the number is growing,” Aceh military chief Tatang Sulaiman said.
“When we retrieve bodies, sometimes there’re five, sometimes 10 corpses.”
More than 1,000 soldiers and about 900 police officers were deployed to the worst- hit areas to set up shelters and evacuation points, he said.
It was the second time in a decade that tragedy had struck the province’s east coast following the 2004 tsunami. H ouses and shops were flattened and countless people left homeless and in need of basic supplies such as food and water.
“The electricity is still off.” said local disaster agency head Puteh Manaf.
“Some places have generators, but there are not many. If it rains there will be disease.”
The sole hospital in Pidie Jaya was quickly overwhelmed, with patients treated outside or sent to neighbouring districts with better facilities.
Said Abdullah, district health office chief, said about 200 injured people had arrived since the quake, but many would not enter the hospital for fear of aftershocks.
“We are treating people outside,” he said. “We took the beds out because nobody is daring to enter the hospital.”
Another regional hospital suffered serious damage in the quake, along with schools and other key infrastructure, a national disaster agency spokesman said.
In the town of Meureudu, residents rushed outside as their homes buckled.
“Everything was destroyed,” said Hasbi Jaya, who pulled his two children unconscious from the rubble of their home.
“It was pitch black because the electricity was out. “I looked around and all my neighbours’ homes were flattened.”
Fear of aftershocks was widespread with dazed residents wandering debris- strewn streets, too scared to return to damaged homes.
Others fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami, although no alert was issued. A huge undersea earthquake in 2004 triggered a tsunami that engulfed parts of Aceh and other countries around the Indian Ocean, killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia alone.
Indonesian seismologists said the latest earthquake was felt across much of Aceh province, with many aftershocks following the initial tremor.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity because of its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.
Aceh lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, which is prone to quakes.
In June, a 6.5-magnitude quake struck off the west of Sumatra, damaging scores of buildings and injuring eight people.