Two quakes kill at least 70 in Sumatra

PADANG – Two strong earthquakes hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island yesterday, killing at least 70 people and sending emergency operations into full swing to deal with dozens of injured.

The tremors were felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, where several buildings were evacuated. The first quake of magnitude 6,3 was felt in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang at around 11 am, sparking panic among seaside residents who feared it might trigger a tsunami.A second 6,0 magnitude earthquake struck the same area two hours later, causing more panic.However, there was no immediate tsunami warning after the quakes, which were on land.Indonesia’s cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi said 70 people had been killed.The United States Geological Survey said the first quake’s epicentre was around 420 km from Singapore.The Indonesian national quake centre measured the quake at 5,8 on the Richter scale.Some buildings collapsed and several homes and other buildings were badly damaged by the tremors that sent several people scrambling for safety, including 200-300 patients who ran out of a hospital in Padang, a Reuters witness said.Citing reports from regencies the mayor of Padang, Fauzi Bahar, said 14 people had died in Solok town, 40 km northeast of Padang, 16 in Batusangkar and one in Payakumbuh.”Many have calmed down and are returning home, but we can still see some traffic jams around the city,” Bahar told Reuters.”The numbers may increase, not every area provided the report.”The mayor of Solok said hospitals were overwhelmed with dozens of injured.”Our priority is to handle the injured ones, including their families.We have set up six tents at a soccer field as emergency posts,” Syamsu Rahim, the mayor of Solok, told Reuters.Padang is one of the few Indonesian cities where a tsunami warning system is in place.A quake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra island in December 2004 and the tsunami it caused left about 170 000 people dead or missing in Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.Nampa-ReutersThe first quake of magnitude 6,3 was felt in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang at around 11 am, sparking panic among seaside residents who feared it might trigger a tsunami.A second 6,0 magnitude earthquake struck the same area two hours later, causing more panic.However, there was no immediate tsunami warning after the quakes, which were on land.Indonesia’s cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi said 70 people had been killed.The United States Geological Survey said the first quake’s epicentre was around 420 km from Singapore.The Indonesian national quake centre measured the quake at 5,8 on the Richter scale.Some buildings collapsed and several homes and other buildings were badly damaged by the tremors that sent several people scrambling for safety, including 200-300 patients who ran out of a hospital in Padang, a Reuters witness said.Citing reports from regencies the mayor of Padang, Fauzi Bahar, said 14 people had died in Solok town, 40 km northeast of Padang, 16 in Batusangkar and one in Payakumbuh.”Many have calmed down and are returning home, but we can still see some traffic jams around the city,” Bahar told Reuters.”The numbers may increase, not every area provided the report.”The mayor of Solok said hospitals were overwhelmed with dozens of injured.”Our priority is to handle the injured ones, including their families.We have set up six tents at a soccer field as emergency posts,” Syamsu Rahim, the mayor of Solok, told Reuters.Padang is one of the few Indonesian cities where a tsunami warning system is in place.A quake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra island in December 2004 and the tsunami it caused left about 170 000 people dead or missing in Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.Nampa-Reuters