Thursday October 1, 2009

Indonesia's Padang, scene of devastation

By Sunanda Creagh

PADANG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Padang's inhabitants were well aware of the dangers of living on top of one of the world's most active fault lines, but the huge earthquake that struck their port city still took most by surprise as it wreaked devastation and death.

A soldier and volunteers search for victims under the ruins of a collapsed four-storey building in Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra island October 1, 2009. Officials estimate that thousands are trapped under rubble and possibly dead after hundreds of houses and multi-storey buildings collapsed. (REUTERS/Crack Palinggi)

"This quake was much stronger than any I had ever felt before," said local resident Anas Taylor, 54.

"I saw the road move up and down like a wave. The ground was not just shaking but actually jumping up and down. It's by far the worst I've ever seen," he told Reuters.

Officials estimate that thousands are trapped under rubble and possibly dead after hundreds of houses and multi-storey buildings collapsed from the 7.6 magnitude quake, which struck on Wednesday afternoon and was followed by aftershocks.

Padang, these days a minor port city, is circled by hills. Its residents fled to higher ground and open spaces in panic when the quake struck, and many chose to sleep out in the open despite heavy rain rather than risk returning indoors.

Arriving at Padang airport from Jakarta, this reporter encountered scenes of chaos.

Hundreds of people had placed prayer mats on the ground outside the airport to sleep in the open, shops had run out of water, and desperate residents scrambled for seats on planes to flee the devastation.

Few cars or taxis were willing to drive into the city centre. Petrol had run out at many stations or else could not be pumped because the power was down.

THOUSANDS TRYING TO LEAVE

"It's getting nasty in town. It's chaos. There's no fuel, people are looting. It's getting worse because people have no food, no money. There's thousands trying to leave town, the roads are blocked," said American Greg Hunt, 38.

"I have been through quakes here before and this was the worst. There is blood everywhere, people with their limbs cut off. We saw buildings collapsed, people dying. We saw a lady half buried under cement. She was trying to leave a building and as she left, the building fell down and took her leg off."

A German tourist, Patrick Werner, 28, said he had been down at the beach when the quake struck.

"The sand began shaking on the ground and then it moved like a wave of thick water. We saw some cracks emerge in the soil and water come out of the ground like it was in Universal Studios," he said.

"We grabbed our passports and some money and ran up to the street. We saw power poles knocked over and houses tilted over, with their tiles smashed. People were crying but they still said 'hello mister'."

In Padang, many of the houses were reduced to rubble. In others, walls and roofs had collapsed, leaving just the furniture standing. A house prepared for a wedding -- draped with red sashes and gold decorations -- had half collapsed, with no sign of the bride or groom.

Nasaruddin, 45, a father-of-four, said he had lost his house and was camping out in a 1-metre by 3-metre tent made from some poles, a tarp and a piece of rusty corrugated iron.

"I share this with three other families. We are waiting for aid from the government, food, water and materials to fix our house, especially cement and sand," he told Reuters.

"It's very hard to find food right now. Who knows when the aid will come, it may be next month but I think it could be three months before we can move out of this tent."

(Writing by Sara Webb; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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