JP/1/Quake1

JP/1/Quake1

Hundreds killed in Nias as quake triggers tsunami panic

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Residents started to search through smoldering rubble for
survivors on Nias island on Tuesday and relatives wept over the
bodies of the dead after a huge undersea earthquake struck the
region, which triggered tsunami early warning and caused massive
panic across Indian Ocean nations, reports said.

Death toll estimates ranged from 330 to 2,000.

The epicenter of the late Monday quake measuring 8.7 on the
Richter scale was just 200 miles (320 kilometers) from that of
the Dec. 26 quake which sent giant waves crashing into 12
nations, killing over 273,000 people, mostly in Aceh. Nias was
also affected by the tsunami.

Budi Atmaji Adiputro, a spokesman for Coordinating Agency for
National Disaster Relief, said rescuers found 330 bodies in the
rubble on Tuesday. The toll was expected to rise because more
bodies were believed to be trapped in collapsed buildings, he
said.

From the air, it appeared that about 30 percent of buildings
in Gunung Sitoli, the island's biggest city, were destroyed, and
there was significant damage in the island's second biggest town,
Teluk Dalam, AP reported.

But Antara said that some 80 percent of the buildings in
Gunung Sitoli were destroyed. It added that many of the bridges
were destroyed, telecommunications went down, and electricity was
still out. Most people in Gunung Sitoli were still taking refuge
on hills amid fears of tsunami strike.

The head of the health office in Aceh province, Mulya Hasjmy,
told AFP that a disaster task force in Simeulue island had
accounted for 100 dead.

But Vice President Yusuf Kalla told the BBC that reports from
Nias indicated 1,000 to 2,000 people had died. The Nias island,
which is popular with surfers, has some 422,000 population.

The undersea quake struck about 200 kilometers off the west
coast of Sumatra and prompted Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Sri
Lanka and Thailand, among others, to issue warnings of imminent
tsunamis.

Alerts rang out on television and radio, while police and
local residents tried to shepherd people to safety away from the
coast towards high ground.

But the giant tsunamis never materialized and three hours
after the quake Indonesia and Thailand gave the all-clear. Sri
Lanka and India followed several hours later, AFP reported.

Survivors -- frail, weeping and swathed in bloody bandages --
described how they were trapped by falling rubble when the giant
tremor struck.

Some 20 people, mostly suffering from broken bones, deep cuts
and bruises were flown from Nias aboard two UN helicopters to
Sibolga in the Sumatra island, where they were transferred to
hospital.

"I was fast asleep when the earthquake occurred but I woke up
just in time to escape from the crumbling roof of my dormitory,"
20-year-old student Serasi Hulu, who suffered a broken arm and
fingers, told AFP.

Pale, bruised and visibly weak from his ordeal, said he had
tried to dash from his room but was pinned down by falling
masonry.

"Before I managed to get out of the house, part of the roof
fell on me and I was trapped for several hours along with two of
my high school mates," said. "I believe they may already have
died."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who decided to delay
official trips to Australia, New Zealand and East Timor, held an
emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday to coordinate relief
operation for Nias.

"We had just ended the emergency relief in Aceh and Nias, we
were taken by surprise against by the earthquake in Nias and
Simeulue," said Susilo, who is also planning to visit the
islands.

He also welcomed the immediate response of the international
communities to help Indonesia.

Singapore said it had dispatched military helicopters and a
team of medical and rescue workers to Nias, while Japan offered
to send relief goods, paramedics and troops.

Australia promised US$1 million, while China announced it
would donate $300,000.

Meanwhile, aid flights on Tuesday began reaching Nias island.
Bad weather, a damaged airport and heavy cloud cover kept many
flights from landing, but in the afternoon there were reports of
at least three planes arriving on the island.

More stories on Pages 3,11
Editorial -- Page 6