Stephen Fitzpatrick, Padang | October 02, 2009
SEVERAL thousand Indonesians are feared dead after a major earthquake struck the west Sumatran city of Padang and nearby towns, levelling high-rise buildings and generating dozens of fires.
Indonesian authorities last night were racing to deal with what some officials believe could be the biggest natural disaster to hit the country since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed about 170,000 people.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, struck at 5.16pm local time (8.16pm AEST) on Wednesday, with an epicentre 53km north of Padang.
It was followed by another big earthquake in the Jambi region 200km southeast of Padang at 8.50am local time yesterday and numerous aftershocks.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, just returned from the US, convened an emergency cabinet meeting at Jakarta's Halim airport yesterday before flying to Padang to help co-ordinate the relief effort.
One of the worst hit areas was Padang's business centre known as Kampung Cina, where multi-storey hotels and office blocks and the city's bazaar were flattened by the powerful quake.
One of Padang's best-known hotels, the seven-storey Hotel Bumi Minang, had been razed, with an unknown number of dead and injured trapped in the rubble.
Another hotel popular with Western visitors to Padang, the Hotel Ambacang, also collapsed together with the city's Salasi hospital and several schools.
Padang's main airport was temporarily closed on Wednesday night as transport officials assessed the damage.
The official death toll last night passed 770, with 2,400 injured, but Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya said yesterday: "Our prediction is that thousands have died."
Padang is the main commercial centre of west Sumatra, with a population of 900,000.
As a massive relief effort began, officials complained of a shortage of heavy equipment to free trapped survivors.
American David Lange, who works for SurfAid, narrowly escaped with his life as he fled the Hotel Ambacang.
"People are trapped and screaming for help," Dr Lange said yesterday. "But they are below huge slabs, which will take heavy equipment to move.
"I saw dozens of the biggest buildings collapsed in town, and most of the damage is concentrated in the commercial centre market, which was packed."
At the five-storey Mariani Hotel, owner Arif Husein yesterday described responding to the screams of a guest trapped under a table in the wreckage of thelobby.
"I asked him not to move too much so he could conserve his energy. At eight this morning, an excavator started digging at the site," he said.
As violent aftershocks continued to rock western Indonesia yesterday, authorities struggled to assess the extent of the disaster, with communications to Padang and neighbouring centres down and road access cut. Hundreds of people were feared still buried under rubble in Padang, and in the nearby town of Pariaman, where an estimated 80per cent of the buildings were destroyed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said last night it was liaising with Indonesian authorities to determine whether any Australians may have been in the earthquake zone.
The Rudd government has already pledged help, and Australian embassy officials including aid experts, consular staff, a defence official and an Australian Federal Police officer travelled to west Sumatra yesterday.
"We're expecting the possibility that we may be asked by Indonesia to assist with the immediate search and rescue operation because of the extent of the damage after two severe earthquakes," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said. DFAT sources said last night there were still no reports of Australians killed or injured in the earthquakes.
Seven out of 13 Australian citizens registered with the Australian embassy in Jakarta had confirmed they did not require consular assistance.
"We are seeking to make contact with the remaining registered nationals, and there may also be Australians who are not registered and have not contacted the embassy," a DFAT spokesman said.
Last night, the Australian government was discussing its emergency response with the Indonesian government after Dr Yudhoyono said he would welcome foreign assistance.
"We have offered immediate support, including emergency supplies already in Indonesia, and other supplies deployed from Australia, depending on local needs," a DFAT spokesman confirmed.
Australia has offered search and rescue teams, disaster damage assessment teams and medical response teams as well as aircraft and air traffic control support.
Australian non-government aid organisations are also sending emergency staff and supplies.
Oxfam spokesman Chris Roche said the organisation was working with local aid providers to distribute 2400 tarpaulins, as well as hygiene kits and clothing.
Indonesia's Co-ordinating Minister for Social Welfare, Abu Rizal Bakrie, and senior colleagues arrived in Padang yesterday to inspect the earthquake damage as powerful aftershocks continued to be felt across West Sumatra and heavy rain disrupted a massive rescue effort.
Land routes into Padang were also clogged by landslides caused by the quake and aftershocks, with damaged roads making it even more difficult to bring in heavy equipment.
The major aftershock yesterday, in the town of Jambi, reportedly destroyed hundreds of homes and caused panicked residents to flee to higher ground.
House walls were cracked and destroyed, as well as roofs, a resident told website Detik.
"They're not prepared to go back into the houses, so they've put up tents instead." The Jambi quake, which came at 8.52am local time yesterday (11.52am Sydney time), measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, authorities said.
A second major quake of 5.0 later rocked the nearby Mentawai islands, which are popular with surfers from around the world.
A group of about 10 Australians on a surfing holiday off the West Sumatra coast with Queensland-based World Surfaris remain at sea and has been unaffected by the disaster.
Managing director Shaun Levings said that although communication had been difficult, all members of the surfing party had been accounted for via email.
"They're all in the safest place - all out on charter boats," hesaid.
Additional reporting: Patrick Walters, agencies
Australians with concerns for the welfare of family or friends in Indonesia can call DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on (02) 6261-3305 or 1300 555 135.
