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Metropolis Reality Forums Ť Indonesia earthquake kills more than 4,300 ť

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   Indonesia earthquake kills more than 4,300

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Topic: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 4,300 (Read 414 times)

Joab
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Indonesia earthquake kills more than 4,300
« on: May 27^th, 2006, 2:12am »

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By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer
29 minutes ago

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake flattened homes and buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing more than 2,500 people and injuring thousands more in the country's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

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The magnitude 6.2 quake struck near the ancient city of Yogyakarta 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, around dawn as many people slept, causing death and damage in several nearby towns.

TV footage showed damaged hotels and government buildings, and several collapsed buildings. Roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get the wounded to hospitals. Some phone lines also were cut.

"It felt really powerful, and the whole building shook," said Narman, a receptionist at a hotel in Yogyakarta. "Everyone ran from their rooms."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the army to help evacuate victims, as panicked residents ran into the smoldering streets, many clutching young children. He said he would head to the disaster zone in Central Java province later Saturday.

Nine hours after the quake struck, the number of dead stood at 2,517, said Direvan, an official in the Social Affairs Ministry's task force office, with two-thirds of the fatalities occurring in the devastated district of Bantul.

"The numbers just keep rising," said Arifin Muhadi of the Indonesian Red Cross, adding that nearly 2,900 people were hurt.

In the chaos that followed the quake, rumors of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people on Java fleeing to higher ground in cars and motorbikes. But Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no danger of a killer wave.

Doctors struggled to care for hundreds of injured people lying on plastic sheets, straw mats and even newspapers outside the overcrowded hospitals, some hooked to intravenous drips dangling from trees.

"We need help here," said Kusmarwanto of Bantul Muhammadiyah Hospital, the closest hospital to the quake's epicenter, adding that his hospital alone had 39 bodies.

"There so many casualties. Houses ... are flattened. Many people still need to be evacuated," he said.

At nearby Dr. Sardjito Hospital, health officials tallied 60 dead, but more bodies were lined up in the hallway and some family members were taking them home before they could be added to the official toll.

"We have hundreds of injured people, our emergency care unit is overwhelmed," said Heru Nugroho.

The quake cracked the runway in Yogyakarta's airport, closing it to aircraft until at least Sunday while inspections take place, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said.

Officials said they did not know yet if the 9th century Buddhist temple, considered one of the seven wonders of the world, was affected in the quake.

In hardest hit Bantul district, Subarjo, a 70-year-old food vendor, was sobbing next to his dead wife, his house destroyed.

"I couldn't help my wife ... I was trying to rescue my children, one with a broken leg, and then the house collapsed. I couldn't help my wife," he said weakly.

"I have to accept this as our destiny, as God's will," he added.

The quake's epicenter was close to Mount Merapi, which has been rumbling for weeks and sending out large clouds of hot gas and ash.

Activity increased on Saturday, with one eruption that came soon after the quake sending debris some 2 miles down its western flank, but Bambang Dwiyanto of the Energy and Mineral Ministry said the two events did not appear to be directly related.

Almost all people had already been evacuated away from the volcano's danger zone, and there were no reports of injuries as a result of the eruption.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A magnitude 9.1 earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004, under the sea off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island triggered a tsunami that killed more than 131,000 people in Aceh province, and more than 100,000 others in nearly a dozen other countries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060527/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

It's really sad to hear about this, Indonesia is so near to Singapore! Cry

« Last Edit: May 28^th, 2006, 5:09pm by Joab »

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Joab
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Re: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 2,500
« Reply #1 on: May 27^th, 2006, 4:48am »

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By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago

BANTUL, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 2,900 people and injuring thousands more in the country's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

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The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, as most people were sleeping, causing death and damage in many nearby towns.

One geologist warned that the temblor could spark a large eruption at nearby Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Houses, hotels and government buildings collapsed, sending hysterical people running through the streets. Many roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get taxis and pickup trucks filled with wounded to hospitals overflowing with patients.

Fourteen hours after the quake struck, the number of dead stood at 2,914, said Social Affairs Ministry official Sopar Jaya.

The numbers are rising!! Cry

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Pocket
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Re: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 2,500
« Reply #2 on: May 27^th, 2006, 6:07am »

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How terrible! When I first read about the earthquake, the article said 50 dead. Now we know there are many more.

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Joab
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Re: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 2,500
« Reply #3 on: May 27^th, 2006, 6:11am »

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LONDON (AFP) - Britain and France have offered aid to Indonesia to help it cope with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people on the main island of Java.

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"We're geared up to give any help that is required as soon we're asked to, and when we are asked, we will respond very, very quickly," British Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn told the Sky News television channel Saturday.

A government spokesman said officials from the British embassy in Jakarta had travelled immediately to the site of the quake to evaluate the situation.

The French foreign ministry also said it had offered aid to Indonesia.

"We immediately told the Indonesian authorities of our availability to send humanitarian aid and personnel," ministry spokesman Denis Simmoneau said, adding that Indonesia had not yet made aid requests to the international community.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier expressed his condolences to Indonesia and offered Russia's assistance in coping with the consequences of the quake.

The quake of 6.2 magnitude caused mass destruction when it struck early Saturday morning 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the central Java city of Yogyakarta.

It killed at least 2,727 people, injuring thousands more and causing thousands of families to flee their homes in panic.

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Rhune
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Re: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 2,500
« Reply #4 on: May 27^th, 2006, 1:27pm »

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I hope they are able to get aid in there quickly and without the problems they had with the Tsunami funds. My heart goes out to those that lost loved ones in this tragedy.

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Joab
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Re: Indonesia earthquake kills more than 2,500
« Reply #5 on: May 27^th, 2006, 3:14pm »

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By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago

BANTUL, Indonesia - Desperate relatives searched rubble for survivors Saturday after a powerful earthquake flattened nearly all the buildings in this rice-farming town while residents slept, killing more than 3,500 people on Indonesia's densely populated Java island.

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The magnitude-6.3 quake wounded thousands more and was the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami. It also triggered fears that a rumbling volcano nearby would erupt.

The earthquake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the famed Borobudur temple complex, caving in roofs and sending concrete walls crashing down. Thousands were wounded. Survivors screamed as they ran from their homes, some clutching bloodied children and the elderly.

The worst devastation was in the town of Bantul, where 80 percent of the homes were destroyed and more than 2,000 people killed. Residents started digging mass graves almost immediately, with family members sobbing and reading the Quran beside rows of corpses awaiting burial beneath a blazing sun.

Village heads recorded their names so the victims could be added to the official death toll. Subarjo, a 70-year-old food vendor, sobbed next to his dead wife, his house destroyed.

"I couldn't help my wife ... I was trying to rescue my children, one with a broken leg, and then the house collapsed," he said. "I have to accept this as our destiny, as God's will."

It was the recent in a series of disasters to strike Indonesia from the 2004 tsunami that ravaged Aceh province to a widening bird flu outbreak to the threat of eruption from nearby Mount Merapi.

The quake's epicenter was 50 miles south of the rumbling Merapi, and activity increased soon after the temblor. A large burst spewed hot clouds and sent debris cascading some two miles down its western flank.

Bambang Dwiyanto of the Energy and Mineral Ministry could not say whether the quake caused the volcanic activity but warned that it could trigger a larger eruption.

"It will influence the activities of Mount Merapi, particularly in the lava dome," said Dwiyanto, head of the ministry's geological division.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Saturday's quake was centered about six miles below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Anthony Guarino of the CalTech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said Indonesia has the second-highest number of erupted volcanos in historic time, outside of Japan. It also has the largest number of volcanos in the world 76.

As night fell across the disaster zone stretching across hundreds of square miles of mostly farming communities in Yogyakarta province tens of thousands of people prepared to sleep on streets, in rice fields and in backyards, fearful of aftershocks.

International agencies and other nations promised to send relief immediately.

Power and telephone service was out across much of the region, adding to their terror. After spending hours digging in vain through the smoldering debris, many said they were giving up their search for relatives or friends until morning.

"It's just too dark," said Sarjio, who was looking for his 40-year-old neighbor, believed to be trapped beneath the remains of her house. "There's nothing we can do now."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the army to evacuate victims and arrived with a team of Cabinet ministers to oversee rescue operations. He slept in a tent camp with survivors.

At least 3,505 were killed in the quake, command post officials from the affected districts told The Associated Press. Two-thirds of the fatalities were in Bantul.

"The numbers just keep rising," said Arifin Muhadi of the Indonesian Red Cross, adding that more than 3,400 people were hurt.

The only foreigner reported killed or injured in the quake was a man from Holland. U.S. Embassy spokesman Max Kwak said he did not know of any American casualties, and said the United States was contributing $100,000 for search-and-rescue efforts and emergency care.

Yogyakarta is about 18 miles from the sea. In the chaos that followed the quake, false rumors of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people fleeing to higher ground in cars and on motorbikes.

The city is 1,390 miles southeast of Aceh province, where 131,000 people died in a December 2004 tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake under the sea.

Many roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get taxis and pickup trucks filled with wounded to hospitals.

Doctors struggled to care for the injured, hundreds of whom were lying on plastic sheets, straw mats and even newspapers outside the overcrowded hospitals, some hooked to intravenous drips dangling from trees.

Bloodstains littered the floor at Yogyakarta's Dr. Sardjito Hospital, along with piles of soiled bandages and used medical supplies.

"We are short of surgeons," said Alexander, a doctor who goes by one name. "There are still so many critically injured people here."

By nightfall, health officials at the hospital had tallied 89 dead, but bodies kept arriving and some family members were taking them home before they could be added to the official toll.

Neighboring Malaysia said it will send a 56-member search team, doctors and medical supplies, and the European Commission said it would release up to $3.8 million in emergency aid.

The World Food Program was sending a plane with 2 tons of medicine and eight truckloads of fortified noodles and biscuits, agency spokeswoman Brenda Barton said in Rome.

The Italian government also loaded a plane with 27 tons of tents, blankets, water purifiers, electric generators and other aid, the Foreign Ministry said.

UNICEF is sending 9,000 tarpaulins, 2,000 tents, health kits and hygiene kits, spokesman John Budd told CNN. He said a hospital and several health clinics had collapsed, and about 4,000 houses were destroyed.

Almost all people had already been evacuated away from the volcano's danger zone, and there were no reports of injuries there. A geological researcher at the Indonesian Science Institute, Dani Hilman, said he did not believe the quake was powerful enough to create a large eruption.

The quake cracked the runway and waiting area at the Yogyakarta airport, closing it to aircraft until at least Sunday while inspections take place, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said.

Officials said the famed 7th century Borobudur Buddhist temple, one of Indonesia's most popular tourist attractions, was not affected by the quake. Nearby Prambanan, a spectacular Hindu temple to the southeast, suffered some damage but it was not immediately clear how much, officials said.

Close to 1 million tourists visit the temples every year.

The death toll is still rising! No!! Cry

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