JAKARTA • The death toll from the 6.5-magnitude quake that struck the north-western tip of Aceh province on Wednesday has risen to 102, with about 750 others injured.
More than 11,100 people, including many from the worst-hit regency of Pidie Jaya, have been displaced from their homes over concerns that more houses may collapse from the aftershocks.
A few hundred more people on the coast have moved inland, fearful of a repeat of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India.
The National Disaster Management Agency yesterday said 10,534 buildings, including homes, schools and mosques, had been damaged by the quake, while hundreds have collapsed.
Rescue efforts are now focused on locating survivors, or retrieving bodies buried under the rubble.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore stands ready to help Indonesia in any way it can. Australia and Japan yesterday also offered assistance to Aceh, which has declared a state of emergency.
Francis Chan
