Dozens dead in Indonesian quake

[Güven]

Dozens dead in Indonesian quake

At least 75 people are dead and thousands are trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake shook the island of Sumatra, officials say.

The epicentre of the 7.6-magnitude quake was about 50km (30 miles) off the coast of the Indonesian island, near the city of Padang.

There are reports of widespread destruction to buildings and bridges.

It comes hours after a tsunami triggered by a separate South Pacific quake killed more than 100 people.

A tsunami watch issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in the wake of the Indonesian quake has been lifted.

Aid 'on the way'


We've heard that some of the roads to these areas have been cut off and there are concerns about communications - phone lines and electricity have also been cut off.

Indonesia is no stranger to disasters of this sort - the ability to reach people is often criticised and one of the hospitals nearest the epicentre has also collapsed, so there are real concerns about how to get to the places most affected.

At least six disaster management teams are on their way to the city of Padang. We've been told it will take up to 10 hours to get to the areas most affected.

Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said the death toll was likely to continue to rise sharply, as so many buildings including schools, shops and hotels had collapsed.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre, said a hospital was among the collapsed buildings.

At least six rescue teams were on their way to Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, from neighbouring provinces, he said, but would not arrive for at least 10 hours.

Local media reported the roof of the city's airport had also collapsed.

Mukhlis Rahman, mayor of the Pariaman District, one of the worst hit areas, said the weather was hindering efforts to clear up after the disaster.

''The quake was followed by a very heavy rain. Many houses and some building are flattened in my area. But I cannot yet verify too much. We will try to compile the data and distribute aid once the rain subsides,'' he told the BBC.

'Extreme panic'

Witnesses said residents ran out of buildings in Padang - which has a population of 900,000 - and surrounding cities.

"A number of hotels in Padang have been destroyed," Rahmat Triyono, from the Indonesian geophysics and meteorology agency, told AFP news agency.

"Up to now we haven't been able to reach Padang, communications have been cut," Mr Triyono added.


MAJOR INDONESIAN QUAKES
26 Dec 2004: Asian tsunami kills 170,000 in Indonesia alone
28 March 2005: About 1,300 killed after a magnitude 8.7 quake hits the coast of Sumatra
27 May 2006: Quake hits ancient city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,000
17 July 2006: A tsunami after a 7.7 magnitude quake in West Java province kills 550 people


An unnamed witness told Reuters there was "extreme panic" in the city, with bridges down and flooding caused by broken water pipes.

The earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) some 85km under the sea, north-west of Padang, the US Geological Survey said.

Reports said the shaking could be felt in high buildings in the capital, Jakarta, and was also felt in Singapore and Malaysia.

The quake was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

That much more powerful earthquake struck roughly 600km north-west of Padang.

Geologists have long warned that Padang could one day be completely destroyed by an earthquake because of its location.

Source(BBC News)

 

[Soulja Girl]

Another Earthquake in Indonesia yet again... All we can do is take heed from this and pray for the deceased... Majority are Muslims in Indonesia riighttt?? :?

:wa:

 

[Hayaa]

Inna Lillahi Wa inna ilayhi raj'ioon :[

 

[Ramadhan]

Another Earthquake in Indonesia yet again... All we can do is take heed from this and pray for the deceased... Majority are Muslims in Indonesia riighttt?? :?

:wa:

Yes, Indonesia has the world's largest muslim population, and the people of west sumatra where the earthquake struck are known locally for their strong faith in Islam.

 

[ardianto]

Frankly, as Indonesians we are not shocked if earthquake hits Indonesia, but we are always very sad when we see many people become victims in this disaster.
We are living in a place where earthquake frequently happened. We know, earthquake will hits Indonesia again and again but we don't know when or in which part of Indonesia.

May Allah accept those dead victims in jannah, may Allah give strongness to the survivors and families of all victims. imsad

 

[syilla]

i watched tv yesterday...it is so saddening

 

[north_malaysian]

they had one big quake on wednesday and another two quakes on thursday morning.

the tremors were felt in the neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore too...

please pray for them...

 

[north_malaysian]

Frankly, as Indonesians we are not shocked if earthquake hits Indonesia, but we are always very sad when we see many people become victims in this disaster.
We are living in a place where earthquake frequently happened. We know, earthquake will hits Indonesia again and again but we don't know when or in which part of Indonesia.

May Allah accept those dead victims in jannah, may Allah give strongness to the survivors and families of all victims. imsad

Allah is testing their imaan... and when Allah test you .. it means that Allah still love you.

p/s: the body counts reached 1,000+

 

[north_malaysian]

Yes, Indonesia has the world's largest muslim population, and the people of west sumatra where the earthquake struck are known locally for their strong faith in Islam.

yeah... the Minangkabaus are very religious people in both Indonesia and Malaysia. They also produced lots of great Islamic scholars in the Malay world.

 

[Ramadhan]

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- At least 1,100 people are dead in Indonesia as a result of two large earthquakes in as many days, United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters Thursday.

Family members mourn in front of a collapsed school in Padang on Thursday.

Hundreds more are believed to be injured, Holmes said. "These numbers, I fear, will rise as more information becomes available," he said. "It's still feared that thousands of people are trapped under damaged houses and many buildings."

Telecommunications are difficult into the region, roads are cut off and the hardest-hit area, including the city of Padang, lacks power and other services, Holmes said. Heavy rainfall also has hindered search and rescue efforts.

Corpses lay stacked outside hospitals in Padang as night fell Thursday, casting nearly the entire city in darkness.

The 6.6 magnitude quake Thursday hit South Sumatra (9:52 p.m. Wednesday ET), about 100 miles (160 km) from Bengkulu, the U.S. Geological Survey said. An earlier quake Wednesday had a magnitude of 7.6.

Worst hit was the West Sumatran capital of Padang, where officials estimate 376 people perished.

Rustam Pakaya, the head of the Ministry of Health's crisis center, said thousands of people may be trapped by collapsed buildings and houses.

Officials say casualties could surpass those of the massive Yogyakarta earthquake three years ago, given the intensity and the spread of the damage this week. The second set of tremors Thursday only magnified the scope of the disaster.

In May 2006, a 6.3 magnitude quake centered in the central Java city of Yogyakarta killed more than 5,000 people and triggered fears of an eruption of a nearby volcano.
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On Thursday, many people were wandering the streets of Padang "stunned and dazed," said CNN's Mark Phillips. Some were searching the rubble for survivors, he said, but "there's also a feeling that there aren't that many survivors left."

Wednesday's quake reduced buildings to rubble in Padang, a city of nearly 1 million. People used hammers, chisels and bare hands to dig through debris. Staff at a local hospital treated the injured outside the semi-collapsed building as bodies lay in makeshift morgues.

The earthquakes caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult for authorities and aid organizations to evaluate damage.

Thursday evening, the only light came from generators at Padang's hospital and airport. Several of the hospital's buildings were severely damaged, said CNN's Dan Rivers. Damage in the town itself was spotty; some buildings remained intact near others in ruins.

In Padang, thousands of people slept outside Wednesday night for fear of more tremors, said Yenni Suryani of Catholic Relief Services. She said rain fell Wednesday night and people are in desperate need of adequate shelter.

Amelia Merrick, the operations director for World Vision Indonesia, described the situation as "quite devastating."

"Bridges have gone down, phone lines are in total disrepair," she said. "It's difficult for us to assess the situation."

Wayne Ulrich, the Red Cross disaster management coordinator in Indonesia, said hundreds of houses were damaged, the extent still unclear.

"We have concerns that a hospital has been partially damaged; a market has caught on fire; the airport was closed down for inspection because of the fear if they landed any planes" it might cause problems, Ulrich said.

He said access to the impacted areas was obstructed in parts.

It's "blocked by all kinds of problems: frightened people out in the streets, cars and people trying to get out of the city." Video Watch Ulrich discuss rescue efforts »

Wednesday's quake was felt in nearby cities including Medan and Bengkulu, where people panicked and ran outside in search of higher ground, fearing a tsunami. But it was also felt as far away as Singapore and Malaysia.

"I did feel the tremor in the office today somewhere between 5 and 6 p.m.," said Ratna Osman, who works in a single-story office building in Petaling Jaya, just outside Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur. "I asked [a co-worker] if there's an earthquake somewhere -- either that or I was hallucinating.

"At first, I thought the chair I was sitting on had a screw loose or something," Osman said.

The region is accustomed to earthquakes, and locals have been taught to identify safe places in case of a tsunami, according to Sean Granville-Ross, the Mercy Corps country director for Indonesia.

"We hope that preparation is now paying off," he said.

Earlier this month, an earthquake in West Java killed 57 people.

The Web site for one of Indonesia's main newspapers, The Jakarta Globe, crashed for a while, partly as a result of the heavy traffic from people trying to find out about the quake, the paper said in a Twitter post.

Aid agencies kicked into gear to help those in need.

"We had aid ready because this area of Indonesia is susceptible to this type of tragedy," said Jane Cocking, humanitarian director for Oxfam. "Communications with the quake-zone are difficult, and we are hoping for the best but having to plan for the worst."

 

[north_malaysian]

Mercy team goes to Padang to assess needs

Friday October 2, 2009

PETALING JAYA: Mercy Malaysia has sent a two-member team to quake-ravaged Padang, Sumatra, to assess the requirements for humanitarian aid.
Mercy Malaysia senior programme support officer Maria Lauranti and medical volunteer Oh Boon Haan left Malaysia at 2pm yesterday.

“Mercy Malaysia has also roped in an Indonesian volunteer, Azrim Mirza, stationed in Medan, to conduct an assessment,” said its president Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus in a statement.

He added that an initial RM100,000 had been allocated from Mercy Malaysia’s emergency fund for the disaster and the organisation would monitor the situation to provide other forms of assistance.

Dr Ahmad Faizal said Mercy Malaysia had also sent a two-member team to Manila that was hit by tropical storm Ketsana recently.

Dr Ahmad Faizal said Malaysians could donate to the Mercy Malaysia Hum­ani­tarian Fund through its May­bank account 5621-7950-4126 or CIMB account 1424-000-6561053.

The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) is also ready to deploy a five-member disaster response team to Padang to provide emergency relief.
The team would most likely leave today, according to its communications manager Suhana Mohamad Salleh.

The MRCS is also accepting cash donations for the victims of the earthquake in Padang and the typhoon in the Philippines.

Donations can be made by cheque or cash to Secretary-General Malay­sian Red Crescent Society, National Headquarters, 32 Jalan Nipah, off Jalan Ampang, 55000 Kuala Lum­pur.

Cheques should be made out to the “MRCS International Relief Fund” and banked in to Maybank account 5144-2210–2657.

Meanwhile, Bernama reports that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has welcomed Malaysia and other countries to provide emergency aid to quake victims.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/4829928&sec=nation

 

[north_malaysian]

Students cram into one house

Friday October 2, 2009

PETALING JAYA: Hungry and exhausted, about 300 Malaysian students who survived the deadly earthquake in Padang, Indonesia took shelter in the house of a fellow student that was located on safer ground.

They gathered at fifth-year medical student Richard Selva Kumar’s house in Gunung Pangilun and spent the night there.

Largely intact: A building tilting precariously in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in Padang yesterday.

“All of us had to make do with what I have in my house. We tried to get some rest,” Selva, whose hometown is Sri Kembangan, near here, said when contacted by The Star.

The students returned to their houses early yesterday morning to retrieve their passports and other valuables that they could salvage.

Later in the afternoon, they gathered at the Universitas Andalas campus to meet officials from the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta who arrived to brief them on their evacuation plans.

Malaysian student leader in Padang Murtaza Mohamad Mustaffa said the situation in Padang was still uncertain.

“Food is hard to come by and there is no electricity and water,” he said, adding that there were recurrent aftershocks.

Meanwhile, the parents of the students are heaving a sigh of relief as they would be returning home today.

Emergency supplies: Food aid on its way to Padang aboard the RMAF aircraft yesterday.

The first of the three Royal Malaysian Air Force aircraft to bring the students back home took off from the air force base in Subang shortly before midnight.

For 64-year-old Amirthanathan E. Anthony from Masai, Johor, the safe return of his daughter, Rina Theresa, a fourth-year medical student was his main concern.

“She told me that she lost her laptop and her medical textbooks due to the quake but knowing that she’s safe and is coming home is worth more than anything else,” he said.

The retiree said he was on the phone with his 23-year-old daughter minutes before the earthquake stuck.

Tour of duty: Members of the media and medical team being flown to Padang aboard the RMAF aircraft yesterday.

“It was just shortly after I hung up the phone that I heard news of the earthquake,” he said.

Mohd Fadzil Shuhaimi Ramli said his daughter Che Syaza, also a fourth-year student, told him via an SMS that she would be on the third flight out of Padang.

“We will be driving down to Kuala Lumpur in the morning to pick her up.”

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/4829417&sec=nation

 

[north_malaysian]

100 Australians missing

Oct 2, 2009

Indonesian soldiers excavate into the wreckage of a building to search for victims and survivors in Padang, Sumatra, on October 1, 2009, following a massive earthquake. -- PHOTO: AFP

SYDNEY - UP TO 100 Australians are unaccounted for after devastating earthquakes in Indonesia, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said on Friday, announcing emergency aid for the disaster zone.

Mr Smith said officials estimated as many as 250 Australians were in Padang on Sumatra island, popular with surfers, when a 7.6 magnitude quake struck on Wednesday, killing more than 1,000 people. Some 140 Australians have been contacted.

'I'm always concerned when we've got potentially 100 Australians whose whereabouts we can't vouchsafe for,' Mr Smith told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

'At this stage we've got no evidence which would indicate that we've got any Australians who are killed or injured. But we're just worried to ensure that we track down all the Australians who may have been in the area.'

Mr Smith said it was clear that Indonesia had experienced 'a very large human disaster' as a result of Wednesday's quake and a further 6.8 magnitude tremor in the same region the following day.

Australia would sent a 44-person search and rescue team on Friday to help operations, along with 10 engineering assessment specialists from the military.

Emergency supplies such as tents, tarpaulins, mosquito nets and water purification tablets already in the country would be part of Australia's contribution, he said.

'I think this reflects the scale of the disaster and the fact that Indonesia has made it clear, that the scale of this disaster is such that no one country can manage it alone,' Mr Smith said.

The head of Australia's defence force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said plans were under way to sent a naval ship equipped with a Sea King helicopter from Sydney to Padang within days to help deliver aid to remote areas. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/SE+Asia/Story/STIStory_437155.html

 

[north_malaysian]

Strong earthquake in Tonga

KUALA LUMPUR: A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 occurred in the Tonga Islands at 9.08am Friday at latitude 15.82 South and longitude 174.8 West.

A Meteorologial Department statement here said that the epicentre was located 7,021km west of Davao in the Philippines and from 7,717km west of Tawau, Sabah.

There is no tsunami threat to Malaysia. -- Bernama

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/20091002123613&sec=nation

 

[north_malaysian]

4-5 quakes in 3 days...

 

[☆ღUmm Uthmanღ☆]

Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji'oon

May Allah (swt) provide for those who suffered & survived this disaster. May it be a form of expiation for their sins done knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally & May He (swt) bless them with patience & increase their Iman, Aameenimsad

:wa:​

 

[ardianto]

After the quake, transportation to Padang are full of people who want to meet and help their families. Also full of aid such as foods, clothes, medicines, equipment, etc. Regarding to this situation .................

Several shipping companies give Free of Charge sea transport from Jakarta to Padang for passenger and cargo, on departure dates Oct 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th.

Several airlines take this occasion to increase their airfares from Jakarta to Padang more than 100% higher than normal fare.

A contradiction, isn't it ?.