Earthquakes: Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE 3 Oct 2009

Previous Updates:

• Earthquakes: Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE 2 Oct 2009

• Another Strong Quake Hits Sumatra
• Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Southern Sumatra, Indonesia

As of Saturday, October 3, virtually no help has reached rural areas.

Up to 4,000 people (figure provided by UN officials) are feared trapped under hundreds of thousands of tons of rubble after a magnitude 7.9 quake destroyed more than 25,000 houses and buildings across  seven districts on a 100-km stretch along  the western coast of Sumatra island, Indonesia on September 30, 2009.

“We estimate there are still eight people trapped alive under Ambacang Hotel. We are still trying hard to evacuate them,” a rescuer  told reporters, in Padang.

Indonesians look at bodies from under a cloth barrier after they were pulled from the rubble of buildings, at a hospital in the Sumatran Island city of Pedang, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Medical teams, search dogs, backhoes and emergency supplies were flown into the devastated western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island Friday to bolster frantic rescue attempts for thousands buried by a powerful earthquake. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer). Image may be subject to copyright.

An Indonesian man climbs down from a house that collapsed on top of a car in Wednesday’s earthquake ,in Padang, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Medical teams, search dogs, backhoes and emergency supplies were flown into the devastated western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island Friday to bolster frantic rescue attempts for thousands buried by a powerful earthquake. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer). Image may be subject to copyright.

Situation in the Disaster Areas:

• Power outages are reported in most districts, phone lines are down.
• Water and food are in very short supply.
• Villagers  are digging out the dead with bare hands.
• Cost of recovery operation is estimated at least $400 million, according to Indonesia’s Vice President.
• Rural areas are cut off by massive landslides, which have reportedly blocked roads and destroyed a number of villages, killing about 300 people.
• There are no structures standing in the district of Pariaman, a hilly community of about 370,000 about 80 km north of Padang, an AP journalist has reported.

Related Links:

• Earthquakes: Human Enhanced Disasters – UPDATE 2 Oct 2009
• Another Strong Quake Hits Sumatra
• Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Southern Sumatra, Indonesia

• More Megaquakes May Strike PRF Anytime
• Magnitude 8.3 Quake Strikes Samoa Islands Region

Disaster Update: Indonesia Quake

Indonesia Quake, Typhoon Ketsana and Samoa Tsunami

The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southern Sumatra, Indonesia has reached about 200, but is likely to rise sharply.

Students walk out from a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Padang, on Indonesia’s Sumatra island September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper

Let’s be clear about this. The quake that hit Padang, Sumatra, was much stronger than reported. It was at least a magnitude 7.8, about 3 times stronger than reported.

Some high-rise buildings in Singapore, about 450 km northeast of the epicenter felt the tremors, which also shook some office buildings in  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed late last night that in Jakarta, that the death toll would rise because there was substantial damage in the area with many buildings  collapsed.

Based on the information received and experience from the previous events, FEWW Moderators believe that the death toll might be as high as 2 – 3,000, with many more number of injuries.

“The big buildings are down. The concrete buildings are all down, the hospitals, the main markets, down and burned. A lot of people died in there. A lot of places are burning,” Australian businesswoman  in Padang told Australian radio.

“Most of the damage is in the town center in the big buildings. The little houses, the people’s houses, there are a few damaged, but nothing dramatic. It’s not all a rubble heap in terms of smaller buildings.”

“The quake was followed by a very heavy rain. Many houses and some building are flattened in my area. But I cannot yet verify too much. We will try to compile the data and distribute aid once the rain subsides,” the district mayor of Pariaman District, one of the worst hit areas told reporters.

“A number of hotels in Padang have been destroyed,” Rahmat Triyono, an  employee of the Indonesian geophysics and meteorology agency, told AFP.

“Up to now we haven’t been able to reach Padang, communications have been cut,” he added.

An eye-witness reportedly told Reuters that there was “extreme panic” in the city, with bridges collapsing,  and water from broken pipes causing flooding.

Related Links:

• Reuters Photo Gallery

• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
• Deadly Earthquake Strikes Java, Indonesia
• Magnitude 8.3 Quake Strikes Samoa Islands Region
• The Largest Earthquake
• Earthquakes [Main Index Page]