Quote:
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake flattened homes and hotels in central Indonesia early Saturday as people slept, killing at least 2,900 and injuring thousands more in the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
ADVERTISEMENT
The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta. It was centered about six miles below the surface, the
U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake's epicenter was close to the rumbling Mount Merapi volcano, and activity increased soon after the temblor. A large burst spewed hot clouds and sent debris cascading some two miles down its western flank.
Bambang Dwiyanto of the Energy and Mineral Ministry could not say whether the quake caused the volcanic activity but warned that it could trigger a larger eruption.
"It will influence the activities of Mount Merapi, particularly in the lava dome," said Dwiyanto, head of the ministry's geological division.
Almost all people had already been evacuated away from the volcano's danger zone, and there were no reports of injuries as a result of the eruption.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
The strong quake knocked down houses, hotels and government buildings, sending hysterical people running into the streets. Many roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get taxis and pickup trucks filled with wounded to packed hospitals.
In the hardest-hit district of Bantul, rescuers tried to pull bodies from the rubble as residents started digging mass graves.
Rows of corpses awaited burial beneath a blazing sun, with village heads recording their names so they could be added to the official death toll.
Subarjo, a 70-year-old food vendor, sobbed next to his dead wife, his house destroyed.
"I couldn't help my wife ... I was trying to rescue my children, one with a broken leg, and then the house collapsed," he said. "I have to accept this as our destiny, as God's will."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the army to help evacuate victims and arrived in densely populated Central Java province Saturday afternoon with a team of Cabinet ministers to oversee rescue operations.
Fourteen hours after the quake struck, the number of dead stood at 2,914, Social Affairs Ministry official Sopar Jaya said, adding that two-thirds of the fatalities occurred in devastated Bantul.
"The numbers just keep rising," said Arifin Muhadi of the Indonesian Red Cross, adding that nearly 2,900 people were hurt.
Yogyakarta is about 18 miles from the sea. In the chaos that followed the quake, false rumors of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people fleeing to higher ground in cars and on motorbikes.
The city is 1,390 miles southeast of Aceh province, where 131,000 people died in a December 2004 tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake under the sea.
Civilians carried bloodied survivors, including children, into hospitals, sometimes jumping off flatbed trucks used in construction. Large cracks crisscrossed some rads, while others had collapsed.
Doctors were coming into the region from other parts of the country. Japan also said it was sending a seven-person medical team, relief goods and financial aid, the Foreign Ministry said.
Neighboring Malaysia said it will send a 56-member search team, doctors and medical supplies, and the
European Commission said it would release up to $3.8 million in emergency aid.
Medical teams struggled to care for the injured, hundreds of whom were lying on plastic sheets, straw mats and even newspapers outside the overcrowded hospitals, some hooked to intravenous drips dangling from trees.
"We need help here," said Kusmarwanto of Bantul Muhammadiyah Hospital, the closest hospital to the quake's epicenter, adding that his hospital alone had 39 bodies.
At nearby Dr. Sardjito Hospital, health officials tallied 60 dead, but more bodies were lined up in the hallway and some family members were taking them home before they could be added to the official toll.
"We have hundreds of injured people, our emergency care unit is overwhelmed," Heru Nugroho said.
The quake cracked the runway at the airport in Yogyakarta, closing it to aircraft until at least Sunday while inspections take place, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said.
The city is home to the 9th century Borobudur Buddhist temple, considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Officials did not immediately know if it was affected in the quake.
Nearby Prambanan, a spectacular Hindu temple to the southeast, suffered some damage but it was not immediately clear how much.
