Death toll climbs after Indonesian earthquakes

Geoff Thompson, Gavin Fang

Last Updated: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 23:15:00 +1000

Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry says at least 770 people have been killed by the earthquakes in Sumatra.

Authorities expect the death toll to rise because thousands are still missing.

Hundreds of people are believed to still be trapped under buildings that collapsed in Wednesday night's massive quake.

International aid

Meanwhile, the government has approved $US26 million in cash aid to help victims of an earthquake. It says this will finance two months of relief operations in the disaster area in the coastal city of Padang and its surrounds.

Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says the country would welcome international assistance as it struggles to respond to the earthquake.

"We think we can deal with this...but if our friends and neighbours can do things faster then please help," he said.

'No formal request'

Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says Indonesia hasn't formally requested assistance from the Australian Government, but he's preparing to provide help if required.

Mr Smith says the Government is preparing search and rescue assistance if requested.

President Yudhoyono also says he's sending in the military to help. Army engineers are being told to rebuild damaged roads to make it easier to get emergency aid into Padang.

Second earthquake

There's still little news from the area hit by a second major on Thursday but local media are reporting that hundreds of homes have been damaged.

The latest quake struck in the Jambi regency of Sumatra, south of the devastated city of Padang around lunchtime local time.

The quake's epicentre was close to the surface in a heavily populated area.

Authorities are having difficulty getting information out but local media is reporting widespread damage.

Widespread devastation

In Padang, the daylight hours have revealed the widespread devastation wrought by last night's massive earthquake.

Emergency workers have begun pulling some of the hundreds of victims trapped under the rubble out alive but there are fears that the death toll, which now stands at around 200, could rise into the thousands.

Emergency supplies are now slowly getting into the city by plane.

Many towns near Padang remain cut off meaning authorities can't gauge how badly they were hit.

"Our prediction is that thousands have died," Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya told AFP newsagency, referring to the quake that struck Wednesday.

Rescue efforts hampered

Heavy rain is hampering rescue efforts and officials say power has been severed in Padang. Television footage showed people being pulled from the rubble.

At least one hospital has collapsed, forcing surviving patients into the street. Schools and other commercial buildings have also come down.

Houses have also been destroyed in Pariaman north of Padang and landslides have buried more dwellings and cut off roads making it difficult for much-needed heavy machinery to reach affected areas.

Metro Television said the roof of Padang airport had caved in.

The disaster is the latest in a spate of natural and man-made calamities to hit Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 226 million people.

2006 quake

Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie said on Wednesday damage could be similar to that caused by a 2006 quake in the central Java city of Yogyakarta that killed 5,000 people and damaged 150,000 homes.

"Hundreds of houses have been damaged along the road. There are some fires, bridges are cut and there is extreme panic here," said a Reuters witness in the city. Broken water pipes had triggered flooding, he said before his mobile phone was cut off.

The quake was felt around the region. High-rise buildings in Singapore, 440 kilometres to the northeast, evacuated staff. Office buildings also shook in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Australians contacted

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has contacted seven of the 14 Australians known to be near the earthquake area but says there may be others who are not registered.

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