Indonesia earthquake: Scores killed in 6.5 magnitude quake

Quake: Rescue workers look for people trapped under rubble
AFP/Getty Images
Michael Howie7 December 2016

An earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province today killing scores of people and sparking a frantic effort to rescue people trapped under collapsed buildings.

The undersea 6.5-magnitude tremor struck at 5.03am local time.The number of dead reached 97 within a few hours, with local army chief Major General Tatang Sulaiman warning more people were trapped.

He said four people were pulled from the rubble alive. “Hopefully we would be able to finish the evacuation from the rubble before sunset,” he said.

A spokesman for the national disaster agency said more than 200 shops and homes had been destroyed, along with 14 mosques.

A hospital and school were also badly damaged.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered all government agencies to take part in the rescue efforts.

The rescue operation was concentrated on Meureudu, a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya district.

Excavators were trying to remove debris from shop houses and other buildings where people were believed to have been buried.

The quake was a terrifying reminder of the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

More than 100,000 died in Aceh after the earthquake on December 26 2004 triggered a devastating tsunami. This time there was no tsunami.

“It was very bad, the tremors felt even stronger than 2004 earthquake,” said Musman Aziz, a Meureudu resident. “I was so scared the tsunami was coming.”

Seaside resident Fitri Abidin said she fled with her husband and wailing children to a nearby hill after the quake jolted the family awake.

They stayed there for several hours until authorities reassured them there was no tsunami risk.

“It terrified me. I was having difficulty breathing or walking,” said Mrs Abidin.

She said her husband grabbed hold of her and carried her out of the house.

The family’s house did not collapse but the homes of some neighbors did. She said she was afraid three friends were buried in rubble.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said more than 300 people were injured, about a quarter of them seriously.

More than 280 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including 16 mosques, and roads were also cracked and power poles toppled over.

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