Aid began to flow today to survivors of deadly earthquakes in Indonesia's West Sumatra as rescue teams searched frantically for victims who may still be trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The disaster management agency said 72 people were killed by yesterday's two quakes, which were also felt in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, but many more were injured and thousands spent a night in the open, frightened of further tremors.
Thousands of people in West Sumatra province, where the 6.4 magnitude quake and another measuring 6.3 were centered, are now camped in tents outside their homes or in open fields.
Rescue officials used heavy equipment to clear away the debris while some survivors used bare hands to cut through the rubble under which dozens were still feared to be trapped.
Hospitals in some areas were overwhelmed with injured. Many people had fled their homes and fears of aftershocks pushed authorities in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital, to set up emergency tents at a soccer field.
The government sent in the military and police to assist with rescue efforts while the Red Cross also deployed a rapid-response team to assess the damage and needs of victims.
The government and Red Cross distributed food supplies such as cooking oil and rice, tents and medicine and drinking water.
United Nations aid agencies said a team of health, sanitation and nutrition experts would arrive in the affected area "on the first available flight" to assess the situation.