Posted on 05/27/2006 4:40:31 AM PDT by Esther Ruth
Last update - 13:31 27/05/2006
Death toll in Indonesian quake rises to at least 2,517
A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 2,517 people, wounding thousands more and leaving overwhelmed doctors begging for help, officials said.
The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the ancient city of Yogyakarta as many people slept, causing death and damage there and in many nearby towns. Roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get the wounded to hospitals. Some phone lines also were cut.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the army to help evacuate victims, as panicked residents ran into the smoldering streets, many clutching young children. He said he would head to the disaster zone in Central Java province later Saturday.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Not again! Tidal waves, bird flu and now earthquake. Indonesia seems to be growing as the epicenter of the perfect storm of human chaos and misery at the whims of nature.
(Sorry,I've gotta ask this...)
Nature,or "allah"?
I woke up to the USGS email. Prayers for all those who were lost.
Amazing how quick they get a head count ... 2,517 .
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-5849418,00.html
UK aid offer to Java quake victims
Press Association
Saturday May 27, 2006 11:23 AM
Britain offered immediate aid to Indonesia after a huge earthquake killed thousands on the island of Java.
The Foreign Office passed an offer of help directly to the Indonesian government in Jakarta as well as through its embassy in London, the Department for International Development (DFID) said.
A spokesman said Britain was "standing ready" to help with both search and rescue teams and officials capable of co-ordinating efforts on the ground poised to travel to the quake zone near the ancient city of Yogyakarta.
With the reported death toll topping 2,500, the Foreign Office said that it had not had any reports of Britons affected.
A spokesman said that a small team of officials from the British Embassy in Jakarta set off for the affected area immediately and was assessing the situation.
excerpted
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/indon-quake-toll-tops-2500/2006/05/27/1148524927481.html
Indon quake toll tops 2500
May 27, 2006 - 10:08PM
A powerful earthquake destroyed entire towns and villages in central Indonesia today, killing more than 2,700 people, injuring thousands and sparking a tsunami scare which sowed mass panic.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck at dawn near the densely populated ancient city of Yogyakarta on the main island of Java, rattling an area that had been on edge for weeks amid fears nearby Mount Merapi volcano would erupt.
Thousands of families fled their homes in panic as buildings shuddered and collapsed, many of them running for higher ground amid false rumours of a tsunami like the one that devastated the country in December 2004.
Many could not escape and were buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings or struck by flying rocks and debris as the quake devastated towns and villages across the south of the island.
One of the worst hit areas was the Bantul district, south of Yogyakarta, which was flattened.
"There is only one house remaining standing here, that of the head of the hamlet, but even that is not safe anymore as the walls are cracked," said Ngadiyo, 63, crouching in front of the rubble of his house in central Bantul.
"I have never gone through an earthquake this strong during my entire life," said his elder brother, Jodi Riwono, 46, who was trapped unconscious under rubble before being rescued by a grandson.
An official at the social affairs ministry's disaster relief centre said at least 2,727 fatalities had been reported in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces.
Emergency rescue and medical crews rushed to the worst-hit areas as officials said the death toll may rise.
Hospitals overflowed with casualties.
Heru Nugroho, spokesman for the state-run Sardjito hospital in Yogyakarta, around 400 kilometres east of the capital Jakarta, said 1,500 victims were being treated at the hospital, many of them in the hallways.
People of all ages with broken arms and legs and bruised faces lay out on tiled floors covered in blood waiting for attention. Bodies were covered with bedsheets.
Australian consular staff have contacted Yogyakarta's major hospitals and were told there were no Australians among the casualties.
Staff will set up an embassy office to assist Australians in Yogyakarta.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced Australia has offered $A1 million in immediate aid to quake survivors.
"Australia offers condolences to the families of the victims and stands ready to offer additional assistance if necessary," Downer said.
Aid agencies were sending tents and food to the area to help those left homeless, while an appeal for blood donors was launched.
Rescue workers and survivors pulled hundreds of bodies hourly from the rubble.
The quake forced the closure of Adisucipto airport in Yogyakarta, Detikcom news portal said, with buildings damaged and cracks in the runway. Flights have been diverted to the nearby city of Solo.
Meteorologists said the quake measured 5.9 on the Richter scale, but both US and Hong Kong monitors registered it at 6.2. Seismologists said the quake would not increase the likelihood of an eruption at Merapi.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari and Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah to travel to Yogyakarta immediately to oversee rescue efforts.
"The president is deeply concerned," presidential spokesman Andi Malarangeng told a press conference, adding that Yudhoyono had ordered in troops to help evacuate victims.
Yudhoyono himself was to visit the region tomorrow, he said.
The tsunami scare started when Yogyakarta province police chief Bambang Hari Sampurnojati told local radio that the earthquake was to be followed by tidal waves.
"We panicked when we heard that there was a tsunami. We were ready to flee," Yogyakarta resident Clemon Cilik told the state Antara news agency.
As several aftershocks shook the region, many residents were too afraid to return home, wandering dazed and confused in the streets, many in tears.
More than 20,000 residents living in the shadow of Mount Merapi are already staying in emergency shelters after being evacuated from the slopes following the raising of the top alert signal.
UNICEF spokesman John Budd in Jakarta told CNN that because it had been geared up for relief operations in the event of an eruption it already had response facilities in the area.
"We will be able to provide food, tents, collapsible water tanks and health kits," he said.
A spokesman for the Indonesian Red Cross told the BBC five action teams had been despatched to the area and 21 field hospital units were operating at full capacity.
Britain and France offered aid to Indonesia to help it cope with the aftermath, while Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences and offered assistance in coping with the consequences of the quake.
Damage to roads, power and telecommunications was hampering the rescue effort, police chief Sampurnojati said.
"Electricity is out and communication is difficult," he told El Shinta radio.
(excerpted)
It is the WILL of ALLAH...
Don't make me choose between allah and the flying spaghetti monster...
And I suppose "The Great Satan" will once again be called upon to bail out a Muslim country.
Amen! And, call me a cynic, but whatta you wanna bet 90% of this aid will end up the same place(s) as 90% of the tsunami aid?
Not a word from the wealthy House of Saud for their Mussie brothers.
Will these 2,500 dead muslims get 72 virgins each?
Prayers.
Let them take care of themselves.
After the U.S. gave aid to their last earthquake, they showed their thanks by burning US flags in protest of the Mohammed cartoons.
I don't doubt it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if the donation spigot slows to a trickle because of what happened to the tsunami money.
But they love their Muslim bretheren. That is, they love them from a distance.
My feelings, too.
Yeah, this is sad, but after all the help we gave them after the tsunami, some high up Indoneaseans were saying God was ticked at the US and gave us Katrina and Rita....I wonder what those same people are saying now?
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