INDONESIA: Two earthquakes kill at least 70 in Sumatra island

Two strong earthquakes have hit Indonesia's Sumatra island , killing at least 70 people, flattening buildings and sending emergency operations into full swing to deal with the injured and displaced. The tremors on Tuesday (March 6) were felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, where several buildings were evacuated. Scores of people were believed trapped under rubble on Sumatra, prompting the government to send in the military to assist with rescue efforts. The Red Cross also deployed a rapid response team to assess the damage and needs of victims. Indonesia's cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi said 70 people had been killed. Hospitals in some areas were overwhelmed with dozens of injured and fears of aftershocks pushed authorities in Padang to set up emergency tents at a soccer field. West Sumatra official said around 200 people had been injured in the quakes. Residents in three badly hit areas -- Solok, Tanah Datar and Padang Panjang -- put up tents outside their damaged homes, moved in with relatives or prepared to spend the night in schools and mosques. "I was running from my house and I felt bloods coming out of my head" said 52-year-old Mida who injured her head. Television footage showed staff from a hospital rushing out in panic while others wept in fear as the tremors shook the building. The government and Red Cross distributed food supplies such as cooking oil and rice, tents and medicine and drinking water. The provincial government also sent health workers to affected areas. The first quake of magnitude 6.3 was felt in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang at around 11 a.m., sparking panic among seaside residents who feared it might trigger a tsunami. In the provincial capital of Padang, patients of an hospital are too afraid to stay in the hospital. "I prefer to stay outdoor until I can not feel the aftershocks" said Suhatni, a hospital patient "When we feel the first quake patients were running out of the hospital, they were returned for a while but we felt the second quake, that makes the patients choose to stay outside of hospital" said Dr. Emi Erawaty. Added that more than 100 patients are staying at the tents erected outside the hospital. A second 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the same area two hours later, causing more panic. However, there was no immediate tsunami warning after the quakes, which had their epicentre under land. The United States Geological Survey said the first quake's epicentre was around 420 km (260 miles) from Singapore. The Indonesian national quake centre measured the quake at 5.8. Padang is one of the few Indonesian cities where a tsunami warning system is in place. A quake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra island in December 2004 and the tsunami it caused left about 170,000 people dead or missing in northern Aceh province. The quakes did not affect state oil firm Pertamina's Dumai refinery in central Sumatra and caused no significant damage to a plant of Indonesia's largest cement maker PT Semen Gresik. Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. Its 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity, part of what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire". In March 2005, a quake killed hundreds on Nias island, off the west coast of northern Sumatra.

ITN Source | March 7, 2007

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