Race to save Sumatra quake buried

2 Oct 2009, 5:00 pm   -   Source: AFP/SBS
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Indonesian Health Minister has appealed for foreign help in digging out thousands believed trapped on Sumatra's western coast, as authorities struggle to deliver much needed aid, SBS' Auskar Surbakti reports.

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Foreign emergency rescue teams raced to the quake-devastated island of Sumatra as governments around the world answered an Indonesian call for badly needed assistance.

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari appealed for foreign help in digging out thousands believed trapped on Sumatra's western coast from Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude quake and a series of powerful aftershocks.

SBS Correspondent Auskar Surbakti says damaged roads and traffic are obstructing the delivery of much needed aid in Padang.

"Indonesian President Yudhoyono has ordered all available resources to be diverted to the quake striken areas of Sumatra, but getting the supplies through is very difficult because many roads have been damaged by the two quakes," Mr Surbakti said.    

"The roads that are working are full of traffic from residents," he added.

Many of the people injured from the earthquake are getting treated in makeshift tents, he added.

"That's the best they can hope for now until proper facilities are brought in with the aid and supplies". 

Surbakti says Padang residents are helping the rescuers however they can.

"Padang is just under a million people and everyone is happy to help. In amongst all the disaster and misery there is a feeling of hope amongst the people of Padang."

Nations pledge quake aid

The United States pledged $US300,000 ($A345,000) in immediate aid, plus another $US3 million ($A3.45 million) for later, as US President Barack Obama said he was "deeply moved" by the huge earthquake in the country where he spent his childhood.

"I know that the Indonesian people are strong and resilient and have the heart to overcome this challenge," Obama said.

The European Union pledged three million euros ($A5.02 million) for the aid effort and China offered $US500,000 ($A575,000). Australia, which fears for up to 100 citizens unaccounted for in the quake zone, sent 44-strong team of urban search and rescue team, as well as 10 defence force engineers.

Britian said a 60-strong team of firefighters and staff from aid agencies, carrying specialist rescue equipment, were heading to the devastated region on a government-chartered plane.

Germany has pledged one million euros ($A1.67 million) in addition to search-and-rescue resources and water purification plants, while Switzerland is sending a team of about 120 experts, the foreign ministry there has said.

Indonesia's government has approved $US26 million in cash aid and said it had sent tonnes of medicine, tents, blankets and food aid, as well as hundreds of medical specialists.

Oxfam's local humanitarian director, Sebastien Fesneau, said it was still difficult to gauge the full scale of the disaster. "Not knowing the extent is our biggest challenge. Some are comparing this with the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006.

There were more than 20,000 people injured and 300,000 families affected," he said. "In some areas it seems that 80 per cent of homes have been damaged. In others it looks to be 40 per cent."

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