Indonesia struck by catastrophic quake http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapc...ake/index.html
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A powerful earthquake killed at least 3,002 people in Indonesia, government officials said on Saturday.
More than 2,500 people were hurt when the 6.3-magnitude temblor struck central Java early in the morning while many were still asleep.
Rescuers are searching through ruined buildings for survivors and hospitals are being overwhelmed by casualties. (Watch hospitals struggle to cope with a mass influx of patients -- 0:40)
The quake struck about 15 miles south-southwest of the city of Yogyakarta and near the erupting volcano Mount Merapi. Scientists believe the quake could affect volcanic activity. (See where the quake hit)
The death toll rose sharply throughout Saturday, as teams reached disaster areas near the coast.
The National Disaster Coordinating Agency said 2,091 of the deaths were in the area of Bantul, a district south of Yogyakarta near the Java coast. Deaths have also been reported in Yogyakarta and other communities. In Bantul, 1,892 were hurt.
Property damage is said to be extensive and widespread. Many structures have been damaged or leveled, and many people might be trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings in Yogyakarta and other towns. (Watch cars crushed by concrete -- 3:13 )
The quake was felt across central and eastern Java. Brook Weisman-Ross, disaster coordinator for Plan International, told CNN from Yogyakarta that "people here reported that this was the largest earthquake they had ever felt in their lives in this area."
He said he was "shaken rather violently from my bed with furniture flying and chunks of concrete falling from the walls of my hotel room."
Outside, Weisman-Ross said he saw large cracks in the walls of the hotel and other buildings. As he rushed across town to check on his staff, he saw small, older buildings with collapsed roofs or walls.
Search-and-rescue teams in Yogyakarta said they saw extensive damage to buildings and homes and reported that communications were down and electricity was out.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent "My deepest condolences to those who have lost their families because of this disaster. The system is working, I have contacted Yogyakarta's governor to do everything to handle the situation."
Government officials said plans are in place to bring in relief supplies and rescue teams, and nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, have geared up to provide help. People need food, medicine, tents and blankets.
Rescue teams have become better equipped for natural disaster response from lessons learned in the tsunami in late 2004, in which about 130,000 people died in Indonesia alone.
Latifur Rahman, disaster management coordinator of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said a hospital was among flattened and damaged structures.
He said medical teams were mobilizing and preparing to set up a field hospital in the region. Rahman, who was in Jakarta, said personnel prepared to respond to the volcano were helping out with search, rescue and relief.
Many people fearing aftershocks, a tsunami and more structural damage raced to higher ground. But an Indonesian meteorologist said the shallow quake did not cause a tsunami.
Flights diverted
Relief flights had to be diverted from Yogyakarta to the nearby city of Solo because of damage to that city's airport runway.
UNICEF said it is preparing emergency supplies and has sent staff to Yogyakarta. It has emergency supplies of tents, hygiene kits, health kits and school supplies available to be sent to the earthquake zone.
The supplies include 9,000 tarpaulins, 850 hygiene kits, 1,165 small tents, 753 large tents, 4,000 lanterns, 160 collapsible water tanks, 1,707 school kits, 50 school tents, 152 recreation kits, and 90 school-in-a-box school supplies
The agency said "health kits are also being accessed from Aceh."
Aceh was the region hard-hit by the December 2004 tsunami, which the Indonesian government said left 129,498 dead and 37,606 missing.
The wrath of Nature could really be terrifying...
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