Indonesia Quake Toll Rises to 23 Dead, 88 Injured
Date: 17-Sep-07
Country: INDONESIA
The 8.4 magnitude quake struck off the coast of western
Sumatra on Wednesday evening, and has been followed by at least
40 big aftershocks and several tsunami warnings, subsequently
withdrawn.
Aftershocks with a magnitude ranging from 3 to 5 are likely
to be felt along Sumatra's west coast for the next two weeks, the
Jakarta Post reported on Sunday, citing the head of the
earthquake and tsunami division of the Meteorological and
Geophysical Agency.
Rustam Pakaya, a senior health ministry official, told
Reuters that as of Sunday morning, a total of 23 people had died
in Bengkulu and West Sumatra provinces, the two regions closest
to the quake's epicentre, while 88 people had been injured.
More than 22,000 houses in the area either collapsed or were
damaged, Giri Trigondo, an official at the national disaster
agency, said on Sunday.
"Quake victims in some areas need food, cooking implements,
tents, medicine," he said.
Many people are still sleeping out in the open, either
because their homes have been destroyed or because they are too
scared to return home in case of further quakes.
