More than 500 people were killed indonesia earthquake

01.10.09 / Indonesia / Author: asia news ia

More than 500 people were killed and thousands more were feared to be trapped under rubble following Wednesday’s devastating earthquake off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a news conference Thursday that the government has approved 250 billion rupiah (about $26 million) in cash aid for victims of the quake, which she estimated will be enough for two months of relief operations.

She also said the devastation will impact the state budget and the national economy.

As rescue efforts were under way early Thursday, another powerful earthquake shook western Indonesia, about 180 miles from Wednesday’s epicenter, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It’s unclear whether that quake caused additional damage.

Wednesday’s earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6, according to the geological survey. The quake was felt as far as Bangkok, about 1,000 miles away.

Most of the deaths were in Padang, a city of about 750,000 on Sumatra’s western coast and about 30 miles from the quake’s epicenter.

The largest public hospital in the city, was overrun with injured and the dead. The hospital itself was damaged during quake, forcing medics to work outside in makeshift tents, where the floors were covered with a mix of bloody swabs, discarded syringes and mud from the intermittent rain. On the street outside the hospital, 19 yellow body bags were laid out.

Besides the expected casualties in Padang, more people were suspected to have died in Pariaman, a rural town of about 80,000 people that was closest to the epicenter, north of Padang. Officials received reports of buildings destroyed in Pariaman, and road access to the town was cut off by landslides triggered by the earthquake.