Earthquake in Sumatera 2009

Earthquake in Sumatera 2009


About 5:00 pm on September 30th, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck just offshore of the town of Padang in Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake toppled buildings and started many landslides, smashing homes and swallowing up entire villages. The following day, As rescue workers arrived and residents tried their best to dig out and help the survivors, another unrelated quake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck less than 1,000 km south of the original epicenter. Each of the two quakes had at least one aftershock greater than 5.0 as well. Over 1,000 people are known to have died, an additional 3,000 still missing. Today, October 5th, officials called off the search for survivors in Padang, and are focusing now on caring for the living and coordinating with international relief agencies.



A man struggles in the mud in front of a collapsed house in a village hit by a landslide after an earthquake occured in Kapalo Koto in Pariaman, West Sumatra province October 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh) #



A man carrying ducks evacuates his house, damaged by an earthquake, in Padang Pariaman, a coastal town in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, October 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Crack Palinggi)



A motorcyclist and his passengers drive past destroyed houses at Patamuan village in Padang Pariaman, Indonesia, October 3, 2009. (REUTERS/Crack Palinggi)



Rescue workers walk past the Ambacang Hotel which collapsed in the earthquake-hit area of Padang, West Sumatra province October 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh)



Bride Evi Susanti waits for her groom Roni Gustiawan before the start of a traditional wedding ceremony in Pariaman, Indonesia on October 4, 2009. Gustiawan's house was destroyed by a powerful earthquake four days ago, but on Sunday, dressed in traditional Indonesian red and gold finery, he married his 25-year-old fiancee regardless. The period immediately after the fasting month of Ramadan, which ended last month, is considered an auspicious time for many Indonesian Muslims to marry. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)



Only the hair of a victim killed by the earthquake is visible amongst dirt and rubble, after she was uncovered in a destroyed building in central Padang, Indonesia's West Sumatra province in the early hours of October 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)



A man leans on a car crushed by a minaret of a mosque that fell onto it after an earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)



A traditional "minangkabau" designed building flattened by an earthquake is seen in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Yasser Arafat)



An aerial view of an area affected by earthquake-triggered landslide in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)



A survivor squats on top of the ruins of a village hit by a landslide which occured when an earthquake hit the area of Kapalo Koto in Pariaman, West Sumatra province October 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh)



An injured girl cries during an evacuation immediately after an earthquake hit Padang, Indonesia's Sumatra island September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper)



A man runs near a burning houses after a powerful earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. (AP Photo)



A man walks out of a damaged dealership beside a car crushed after an earthquake in central Padang in Indonesia's West Sumatra province October 3, 2009. (REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)



An aerial picture shows an area after landslide destroyed three villages following recent earthquakes in Pariaman on October 4, 2009. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)



Soldiers and volunteers carry an earthquake victim from a collapsed hotel in Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra island October 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper)



A damaged building is seen on Saturday Oct. 3, 2009 in Padang, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)



An Indonesian search and rescue team excavate the bodies of quake victims from underneath a collapsed building during an evacuation in Padang on October 3, 2009. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)



Suri, an Indonesian woman, is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in the Sumatran city of Padang on October 2, 2009 after a 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings in the area late on September 30. (ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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