http://www.theage.com.au/world/thousands-perish-in-quakes-20091001-geoo.html
Thousands perish in quakes TOM ALLARD AND BEN DOHERTY, PADANG, INDONESIA, AND MALCOLM BROWN, SAMOA October 2, 2009 Video will begin in 5 seconds. Video feedback a.. Play video Indonesia quake aftermath b.. Play video Second quake hits Indonesia Replay video Second quake hits Indonesia The US Geological Survey says another powerful earthquake has shaken western Indonesia. a.. Video feedback b.. Video settings A DESPERATE humanitarian crisis was unfolding last night on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where rescuers were battling to save thousands of people feared to have been buried under collapsed buildings in the coastal city of Padang. The official death toll stood at 770, but local authorities warned that the body count would soar into thousands once the rubble was cleared in the wake of two powerful earthquakes that struck the area within 24 hours. A shortage of heavy equipment left many rescuers searching hopelessly for survivors by hand. Disaster management experts said there was a window of only about 72 hours to find people alive. A man runs past a burning building in Padang in the aftermath of the earthquake. Photo: AP Thousand of kilometres away in the Pacific island nations of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, more bodies were being recovered, hundreds of people remained missing and villages lay in ruins after Wednesday's offshore earthquake and giant tsunami waves that slammed into coastal communities. The number of deaths on the islands was expected to climb well beyond last night's official toll of 149. Four Australians and one New Zealand child who lived in Australia have been confirmed among the dead in Samoa. A further six who were missing have now been located. Twenty-five Australian survivors of the disaster in Samoa arrived in Brisbane yesterday on a chartered flight, some sporting cuts and bruises. The group included passengers with no luggage or passports after the tsunami wiped out resorts and killed scores of people. Click for more photos A man sits on a motorcycle outside a collapsed shopping mall after an earthquake hit Padang, on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Photo: Reuters a.. b.. c.. d.. e.. f.. g.. h.. i.. j.. k.. l.. m.. n.. o.. p.. q.. r.. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was working closely with NZ and France to co-ordinate aid efforts for Samoa. Medical personnel, fire and rescue officers and Australian Federal Police officers were among a large Australian contingent already in the island nation. Two more military transport planes left yesterday with more supplies and rescue workers. As the magnitude of the disaster in Indonesia became clearer yesterday, Australian officials left for a famed surfing spot on Sumatra searching for missing Australians. Mr Smith said 13 Australians were known to have been in or near Padang when the first quake struck. Of those, seven had been contacted so far. ''We are seeking to make contact with remaining registered nationals,'' Mr Smith said. He said Australia was preparing to respond to any requests from Indonesia for rescue or disaster relief. The first Indonesian Government and military flights laden with food, medicine and body bags began arriving in the devastated region yesterday as another powerful quake struck further south, sending residents fleeing their homes in panic. Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude quake caused buildings to crumble and fires to rage in Padang, a city of just under a million people that was left largely without power and communications. The official toll of 529 dead and 2400 injured was expected to soar. ''Our prediction is that thousands have died,'' said Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya. Terrified residents rushed from homes and ran through the streets as the tremor hit off Sumatra's west coast at 5.16pm local time on Wednesday, 47 kilometres north-west of Padang. Dozens of aftershocks followed, including a major one yesterday afternoon that was measured by the United States Geological Survey at 6.8 and struck on land 225 kilometres south-east of Padang. Rescue teams from the Indonesian army and Health Ministry descended on Padang and surrounding towns yesterday to hunt for survivors in the twisted wreckage of collapsed buildings and homes. In pouring rain, overwhelmed police and soldiers were clawing through the tangled remains of schools, hotels and at least one major hospital that buckled in the quake. The Dr M Djamil hospital in the centre of Padang bore the brunt of the main quake. Most of the two-storey concrete complex was destroyed and so far rescuers have been unable to clear away rubble to search for survivors. ''We don't have enough doctors,'' said Dr Sudyar Iskander, director of the hospital. ''The other problem is phone communications. They are terrible,'' said his colleague Dr Muhammad Hidayat. A constant stream of ambulances ferried the injured to tents erected outside the partially collapsed building. In the car park in front of its ruined facade, thousands of anxious people waited for news of loved ones, while others could be seen wandering through rows of yellow body bags searching for relatives. A bare few properties in Padang had electricity and most of the city was without water. Authorities said they were suffering from a desperate shortage of heavy machinery, but the military said planes loaded with tents and blankets had been dispatched to help the thousands left homeless by the disaster. ''We have sent eight tonnes of medicine, eight tonnes of baby food, 630 body bags, 200 medical specialists and tents,'' said Mr Pakaya of the Health Ministry. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged officials to ''flood'' the city with aid and medical relief. Both Samoa and Padang sit on the volatile ''Ring of Fire'', an arc of seismic instability around the Pacific rim. Padang also lies on the same tectonic faultline that cracked off Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, in 2004 to trigger the tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people. With BRENDAN NICHOLSON, AGENCIES [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
