Quake death toll 'could be 2,000'
Indonesia’s vice president has predicted that as many as 2,000 people may have died in yesterday's earthquake.
The quake struck off Indonesia’s west coast, killing scores of people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way.
Fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of earthquake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on December 26.
Almost all the deaths reported after the 8.7-magnitude quake were on Indonesia’s Nias island, a popular surfing spot off Sumatra island’s west coast and close to the epicentre. Police were pulling children’s’ bodies out of the rubble of collapsed houses, and a fire was reportedly raging in one town.
“It is predicted – and it’s still a rough estimate – that the numbers of dead may be between 1,000 and 2,000,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the el-Shinta radio station, saying the estimate was based on an assessment of damage to buildings.
Other estimates varied. A district official in the town of Gunungsitoli said about 300 had died there, while Indonesia’s information minister said between 100 and 200 had died.
Two people were also killed in Sri Lanka during a panicky evacuation from the coast in a Tamil rebel-held area, authorities said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 19 miles under the seabed, some 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra island. It was centred just 110 miles southeast of December’s 9.0-magnitude quake – the world’s most powerful in 40 years.
Yesterday’s quake, although very powerful, was but a fraction of the earlier quake. In explosive power, December’s quake was equal to 100 million pounds of TNT, and caused the seabed to spring up as much as 60 feet.
Terrified of a disaster of equal proportions, sirens sounded throughout the region as authorities issued tsunami alerts for six countries after the quake struck as many people were sleeping.
Women clutching children ran into the darkened streets of Banda Aceh, crying and chanting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is Great.” Others grabbed small bags of clothes and fled their tents and homes for higher ground.
Another man rushed instead to the local mosque, saying: “Where can I go, you can’t outrun a tsunami.”
The quake lasted two minutes and briefly cut electricity in Banda Aceh. Thousands poured into the streets, where flickering campfires and motorbike and car headlights provided the only lighting.
People grabbed small bags of clothes as they fled their tents and homes. Many were crying and jumping into cars and onto motorbikes and pedicabs to head for higher ground. Two women wearing prayer shawls and sarongs grabbed a fence to steady themselves.
In Sri Lanka, warning sirens blared along the island nation’s east coast and President Chandrika Kumaratunga urged people to evacuate immediately to higher ground.
“It was like reliving the same horror of three months ago,” said Fatheena Faleel, who fled her home with her three children after seeing the warning on television.
In Malaysia, residents fled their shaking apartments and hotels.
“I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking,” said Jessie Chong, a resident of the largest city, Kuala Lumpur. “I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbours screaming and running out.”
The quake was felt as far away as Singapore and the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 435 miles from the epicentre.
Nias island was badly hit on December 26, when at least 340 residents were killed and 10,000 were left homeless.
The devastation there from yesterday’s quake appeared to be far worse.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said today he would fly to the stricken island to assess the damage for himself.
In the town of Gunungsitoli, about 70% of buildings collapsed in the market district, officials said.
“Hundreds of buildings have been damaged or have collapsed,” said Agus Mendrofa, the island’s deputy district head. He told el-Shinta radio station that at least 296 people had died in Gunungsitoli.
The MISNA missionary news agency in Rome, Italy, reported that a huge fire was raging in Gunungsitoli.
But an overflight of the town at low altitude later revealed that although many houses had sustained damage, the overall level of destruction appeared to be lower than initial reports indicated.
Another police officer, who identified himself as Nainggolan, said rescuers were trying to pull people out of the rubble, and that many were still panicking because of several aftershocks.
“The situation here is really messy,” he said. “Aftershocks keep hitting every half hour making thousands of people flee their homes and afraid to go home.”
US State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said US diplomatic missions in Asia and Africa went into “battle mode” to respond quickly to any contingency. Authorities worldwide had been slow to recognise the magnitude of the December 26 disaster, which killed at least 175,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean nations and left another 106,000 missing.
The only tsunami reported yesterday was a small one at the Cocos Islands, 1,400 miles west of Australia. Hours later, Australian meteorologists reported a tsunami-caused wave of 10 to 20 inches hitting to the north and south of the Western Australia state capital Perth. No damage was reported in either area.
Officials said after the December disaster that a tsunami early warning system could have saved many lives. Such a system exists in the Pacific but has not been established in the Indian Ocean.
Japan and the United States had planned to start providing tsunami warnings to countries around the Indian Ocean this month as a stopgap measure until the region establishes its own alert system.
But for residents of ravaged Banda Aceh, no warning system was needed after they felt the quake and headed for higher ground.
An Oxfam international rapid response assessment team landed on the Indonesian island of Nias by helicopter today.
Alessandra Boas, a member of the team, said: “The devastation is obvious as soon as you land. Many of the houses have collapsed, but it’s still too early for us to get a sense of the full scale of this.”
The team went by motorbikes from the landing site to the area where the devastation is greatest.
“We’re now on our way to the people made homeless by the quake and assess what their most urgent needs are and how we can help,” added Ms Bosa.
The Oxfam assessment team includes an engineer and an emergency response specialist.
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