Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake That Hits Indonesia Kills Over 100 People; Buildings And Houses Get Torn Down

By Mar V - 08 Dec '16 06:00AM
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Last Wednesday morning, a deadly earthquake struck Indonesia, leaving hundreds of bodies dead and many other hundreds in critical condition. Most of the damages were in Indonesia's Aceh province.

Massive 6.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Indonesia; Leaving Hundreds Of Casualties

The 6.5 magnitude earthquake was too shallow, leading to hundreds of lives affected by the incident. The quake damaged in total hundreds of structures including homes, shops, establishments and mosques. Even the hospital in Pidie Jaya was damaged, resulting to the victims of the horrid quake not being attended to as soon as they should have been. Thus, more medical teams were being sent to the area to assist the victims even at the absence of the medical facility itself.

In an interview held with the National Board for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, he stated that the number of deaths could still rise. Nevertheless, they have ensured to make the search and rescue operations fast to save more lives. In a statement made by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, he has already ordered immediate medical and physical assistance to be sent to Aceh, which is the most damaged part of the country having been struck by the shallow quake.

No Tsunami Warnings Came About Following The Earthquake; More Aftershocks Expected

On the lighter side, there were no tsunami warnings announced after the quake. According to Indonesia's Climate, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, the quake that occurred had no potential to lead to a tsunami. However, the residents were warned of a series of aftershocks following the massive earthquake. The quake happened just as the residents were prepping for their morning prayers, shortly before the strike of dawn. Officials of the disaster mitigation agency believe that there are still people that could be buried alive under the rubbles in about ten possible places. Thus, the team has tried to ensure that the rescue team is doing the best of their abilities to have more people alive. Most of the numbers of casualties were counted in Pidie Jaya since it is the one closest to the epicenter of the quake, making it the strongest and most affected.

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