Jakarta: Aid groups began arriving in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday as the death toll from an earthquake that devastated parts of the region rose to 102.
Wednesday’s 6.4-magni-tude earthquake toppled hundreds of homes, commercial buildings and mosques in the three worst-hit districts of Pidie Jaya, Pidie and Bireuen.
Nearly 800 people were injured, including 136 seriously, and one person was listed as missing, said Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
Sutopo also said 3,000 people had been displaced.
Earlier, police said more than 10,000 had sought shelter in mosques, public buildings and tents.
Rescue workers, helped by soldiers and police, searched the rubble using mechanical excavators for people who might still be trapped underneath.
“We are racing against time to save people,” Sutopo said, adding that the provincial government had declared a two-week emergency period to focus on rescue and relief efforts.
More than 200 doctors and paramedics equipped with 64 ambulances began working in temporary shelters to care for survivors, said Aceh provincial spokesman Frans Delian.
International charity Oxfam said it would distribute hygiene kits and tarpaulins and had emergency response experts on stand-by to travel to the worst-affected areas.
“Our priority now is to get an expert assessment of the earthquake’s impact in order to offer aid in the most appropriate and effective way to those people who are affected the most,” said Oxfam Australia’s Humanitarian Manager Meg Quartermaine.
The Director of the Pidie Jaya General Hospital, Erinda, said orthopaedic surgeons were badly needed as many victims suffered from broken bones.
“We have doctors coming from other districts and also from other provinces, but we need more surgeons,” she said.
Pope Francis said he was praying “for the victims and their families, for those injured and those who have lost their homes.”
“May the Lord give strength to the population and support rescue efforts,” he said in an Angelus message from St Peter’s Square.
The quake struck at 5:03 am, with the epicentre 18 kilometres north-east of Pidie Jaya at a depth of 10 kilometres, the national geophysics agency said.
No tsunami warning was issued.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area noted for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
— dpa
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