Last Update
jul-22-2009
Last reported news: |
Sunday evening at 17:16 an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 occured in the region of West Sumatra, the epicenter was located at 45 km of the city of Padang.
At least 529 people have died in a huge earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island, a social affairs ministry official said Thursday afternoon, adding that some affected areas remain cut off. “So far, 529 people have died from the West Sumatra earthquake from six affected districts,” Tugyo Bisri, an official from the ministry’s disaster team, told AFP. “There are areas within the districts we have not been able to reach at all.” The death toll is feared to run into the thousands after the 7.6 earthquake struck on Wednesday evening. The powerful earthquake triggered landslides and trapped thousands of people under collapsed buildings — including two hospitals, an official said. But that number was likely to soar, officials said, as the first outside rescue teams from the Indonesian army and health ministry reached the city to reinforce overwhelmed police on the ground. From : Jakarta Globe(2009-10-01)
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LATEST REPORTS STATE THAT THE DEATH TOLL IS ALREADY 700 AND COULD REACHED SEVERAL THOUSANDS
(Source: AP)The earthquake in Sumatra came 24 hours after a huge tsunami struck Samoa at dawn on Tuesday – triggered by an earthquake measuring between 8.0 and 8.3 – which also flattened villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 100 and leaving dozens missing. Survivors fled the churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific island. Padang lies on one of the world's most active faultlines, which was responsible for the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people on Boxing Day 2004
Unconfirmed local reports collected by aid workers suggested Pariaman, a town of 80,000 people, might have been largely destroyed after being hit by the earthquake, which measured 7.6 in magnitude and struck at 5.16pm local time on Wednesday. First reports from Pariaman described a kilometre-long fracture in the town's main road and the fallen dome of the largest mosque lying on the ground. Officials reported that the death toll was more than 700 but unconfirmed reports said that it might be more than 1,000. As the authorities dealt with more than 2,400 injured and a further 200,000 people affected, a powerful aftershock hit south of Padang this morning, damaging hundreds more buildings.
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