Video footage has emerged showing the moment on Wednesday afternoon when a powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian city of Padang.
(This video has Indonesian commentary)
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1sDQJCUXxs">Padang quake warning ignoredScientists and the mayor of quake-hit Indonesian city Padang in Sumatra told Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen months ago that a potentially catastrophic earthquake and tsunami were likely to hit the area.
But requests for funds from the national government in Jakarta for proper evacuation procedures and other measures to prepare for disaster were turned down.
From:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/10/2009101127769719.html In Indonesia, 'let's be prepared for worst'Posted on Fri, Oct. 2, 2009
By Irwan Firdaus
Associated Press
=snip=
John Holmes, the United Nations' humanitarian chief, set the death toll at 1,100, and the number was expected to grow. Government figures put the number of dead at 777, with at least 440 people seriously injured.
Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake started at sea and rippled through Sumatra, the westernmost island in the Indonesian archipelago.
An eerie quiet settled over Padang late yesterday as workers called off search efforts for the night. Thousands are thought trapped under shattered buildings in the city of 900,000, raising fears of a much higher death toll.
"Let's not underestimate. Let's be prepared for the worst," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in the capital, Jakarta, before flying to Padang, a coastal city and West Sumatra province's capital.
President Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, pledged to support recovery efforts there as well as providing assistance in the South Pacific countries of Samoa and American Samoa, which were hit by a deadly tsunami Tuesday.
More:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20091002_In_Indonesia___let_s_be_prepared_for_worst_.html Sumatra quake death toll climbs=snip=
Almost 48 hours after the quake struck, many districts around Padang remained inaccessible to emergency services and officials have said the number of dead was likely rise yet further as the full scale of the disaster emerged.
Rustam Pakaya, the head of Indonesia's health ministry crisis centre, said he believed that "thousands have died".
With aid supplies beginning to arrive in force in Padang on Friday, more heavy equipment was visible around the worst hit parts of the city as rescuers raced to search for survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
However, Indonesia's health minister said far more help was needed and issued an urgent call for more foreign aid in the form of rescue and recovery equipment, as well as medics to treat wounded survivors.
"We need help from foreign countries for evacuation efforts. We need them to provide skilled rescuers with equipment," Siti Fadilah Supari told reporters in Jakarta.
"Our main problem is that there are a lot of victims still trapped in the rubble. We are struggling to pull them out."
Read more (links to more videos, too):
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/10/20091022410705730.html
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