THE FULL scale of Sumatra’s earthquake disaster began to emerge yesterday as Indonesian and international rescue teams converged on the stricken port city of Padang and the neighbouring town of Pariaman amid fears that thousands could have perished.
Witnesses said almost a third of buildings in the centre of Padang had been destroyed, and most had been damaged.
Unconfirmed local reports collected by aid workers suggested Pariaman, a town of 80,000 people, might have been largely destroyed after being hit by the earthquake, which measured 7.6 in magnitude and struck at 5.16pm local time on Wednesday.
First reports from Pariaman described a kilometre-long fracture in the town’s main road and the fallen dome of the largest mosque lying on the ground.
Officials reported that the death toll had reached 777 but unconfirmed reports said it might be more than 1,000.
As the authorities dealt with more than 2,400 injured and a further 200,000 people affected, a powerful aftershock hit south of Padang yesterday morning, damaging hundreds more buildings.
The health ministry crisis centre head, Rustam Pakaya, said: “Our prediction is that thousands have died.”
South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore are among countries that have sent civil emergency teams to assist in western Sumatra. Volunteers from the UK-based International Rescue Corps were preparing to fly out as the international relief effort got under way.
It has emerged that the mayor of Padang, Fauzi Bahar, asked for extra money last year to prepare for evacuating the town in the event of an earthquake, but the request was turned down by the government in Jakarta.
The Indonesian government has declared that evacuation of victims is the priority.
The president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, visited Padang and warned his country yesterday to “prepare for the worst” as he ordered the military to send emergency response teams from Jakarta and West Sumatra and North Sumatra provinces.
“Save those who we can help,” he said, “and don’t stop after 10 days or two weeks, because those who are trapped under the rubble can survive longer.”
The Indonesian navy was sending six warships with emergency supplies to the area, including a vessel with 50 doctors to serve as a hospital ship.
Padang’s mayor appealed for urgent assistance on the Indonesian radio station el-Shinta.
“We are overwhelmed with victims,” he said, “and . . . lack of clean water, electricity and telecommunications.”
One focus for the rescue effort was a school in the centre of Padang where between 30 and 60 children attending an evening class were feared buried after the third floor of the four-storey concrete building collapsed into classrooms on the two floors below.
Seven teenagers were reported to have been dug out alive, most of whom were seriously injured, while more than a dozen bodies had been recovered.
Dozens were feared buried in the collapsed five-storey Ambacang hotel, popular with surfers and other foreign tourists.
Unconfirmed reports said at least two foreigners were killed when the hotels’ floors collapsed on each other.