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.
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