Quake kills 770 in Indonesia: official

1 Oct 2009, 11:11 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Indonesia said it expected the death toll from a massive earthquake to climb into the thousands, as rescue workers dig to reach those trapped under rubble.

Indonesia said it expected the death toll from a massive earthquake to climb into the thousands, as rescue workers dug with their bare hands to reach those trapped under rubble.

The first flights laden with food, medicine and body bags began arriving in the devastated region on Sumatra island, even as another powerful quake struck further south, sending residents fleeing their homes in panic.

Wednesday afternoon's 7.6-magnitude quake caused buildings to crumble and fires to rage in Padang city, home to nearly a million people on the coast of Sumatra, which was left largely without power and communications.

At least 770 people were killed, a social affairs ministry official said.

"For the time being the number of dead is 770. There were 294 people seriously injured and 2,090 slightly injured," ministry disaster team official Tugyo Bisri told Agence France-Presse.

Rescue teams from the Indonesian army and health ministry descended Padang and surrounding towns to hunt for survivors in the twisted wreckage of collapsed buildings and homes.

In pouring rain, overwhelmed police and soldiers were clawing through the tangled remains of schools, hotels and at least one major hospital that buckled in the quake.

At the city's main M Djamil hospital, a constant stream of ambulances ferried the injured to tents erected outside the partially collapsed building.

Relatives could be seen wandering through rows of yellow body bags searching for loved ones.

Authorities said they were suffering from a desperate shortage of heavy machinery, but the military said planes loaded with tents and blankets had been dispatched to help the thousands left homeless by the disaster.

"We have sent eight tonnes of medicine, eight tonnes of baby food, 630 body bags, 200 medical specialists and tents," said the health ministry's Pakaya.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, briefing reporters in Tokyo as he returned from the G20 summit in the United States, urged officials to "flood" the city with aid and medical relief.

British-based charity Oxfam said it had earmarked STG200,000 ($A360,000) for relief efforts, including the distribution of emergency shelters, hygiene kits and clothing.

Charity World Vision, which has dispatched a team to the quake-hit area, said it had set aside $US1 million ($A1.13 million) to assist victims.

Australia's foreign minister Stephen Smith said a group of Australian officials was travelling to Padang to assist any Australians caught up in the tragedy and assess humanitarian assistance needs.

Australia was preparing itself to respond for any requests from Indonesia for rescue or disaster relief, he added.

Smith said on Thursday that half of the 14 Australians known to be in the area at the time had been located.

Padang is a mecca for surfers and more Australians not registered on Smart Traveller could well be in the area, he said.

Terrified residents rushed from their homes and ran through the streets as the tremor hit off Sumatra's west coast at 5.16pm local time on Wednesday, 47 kilometres northwest of Padang.

It was felt in Jakarta, 940 kilometres away, and sent frightened office workers streaming out of buildings in nearby Singapore and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Dozens of aftershocks followed, including the major one Thursday which the US Geological Survey measured at 6.8 and said struck on land 225 kilometres southeast of Padang.

Indonesian authorities measured the quake at 7.0 magnitude but said there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Indonesian earthquakes followed a massive 8.0-magnitude tremor that spawned a deadly tsunami in the Samoan islands of the South Pacific.

Both disaster zones sit on the volatile "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic instability around the Pacific rim.

Geologists said Padang was vulnerable to more quakes and tsunamis, and that recent events could even set off three major volcanoes in West Sumatra.

Padang lies on the same tectonic faultline that cracked off Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, in 2004 to trigger the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people.

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