Indonesia Earthquake Deaths Reach 2,900

[curdledvomit]

...plus new birdflu cases there as well as a volcano.

I would not want to be in thatpart of teh world anytime soon.

Java quake death toll nears 3,000

Mark Townsend
Saturday May 27, 2006


Villagers carry the body of an earthquake victim in Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photograph: Purwowiyoto/AP


More than 2,900 people have been killed and thousands more seriously injured after an earthquake flattened entire districts of Indonesia's ancient royal city of Yogyakarta.Measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, the quake destroyed thousands of buildings in the city, a major tourist attraction, after shaking a densely populated region of southern Java shortly after dawn yesterday.

Residents were described fleeing from their homes in bedclothes; others recalled a 'big jolt and the sound of thunder' as the earthquake struck. Thousands are thought to be still trapped beneath the rubble of buildings.

As the scale of the devastation became clear, focus turned to the effect the violent tremors may have had on Mount Merapi, the volcano 24km from Yogyakarta that is on high alert for a major eruption.

Vulcanologists monitoring the situation noticed an immediate increase in activity in the aftermath of the earthquake. Hot, dense gas clouds, which local residents dub 'shaggy goats' were reported stretching 4km down Merapi's mountainside, just short of their length before the volcano's last major eruption.

'After the earthquake there were more clouds coming out of the crater,' confirmed Subandrio, head of the Merapi section at the Centre for Vulcanological Research and Technology Department.

Within hours of the quake, which occured at around 6am local time [11am GMT], Britain offered immediate aid to Indonesia, announcing it was 'standing ready' to help with search and rescue teams.

A small team of officials from the British Embassy in Jakarta set off for the affected area yesterday morning and began assessing the situation. The Foreign Office said it had received no reports that any Britons were among the dead or injured. However, as the deathtoll continued to mount throughout yesterday, fears grew that Britons might be among the casualties.

Yogyakarta's royal palaces and the nearby Borobudur temple complex are both prime attractions for foreign tourists.

Early reports suggested the ancient Buddhist complex was completely intact with no sign of damage despite major buildings nearby having totally collapsed. Another world-famous tourist site, the Prambanan Hindu temple complex near Jakarta, suffered some damage to its smaller structures but the main building was described as intact.

With the epicentre of the quake 25km offshore, further concerns that the mainland could be struck by a tsunami failed to materialise. Indonesia sits on the Asia-Pacific's so-called 'Ring of Fire' marked by heavy volcanic and tectonic activity.

Its Aceh province was hardest hit by the December 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, which left around 170,000 people dead or missing there. A major quake in March 2005 killed about 1,000 people on Nias island and nearby areas off Sumatra.

Yogyakarta is about 25km north of the Indian Ocean coast and 440km east of Jakarta. Hospital officials yesterday said the dead had generally suffered head injuries and broken bones from collapsing buildings.

Witnesses said thousands of houses had collapsed in the quake. Office and government buildings were also in ruins. Hospital patients, including newborn infants, had been moved outside due to fears of aftershocks. One Yogyakarta hospital said it had treated 1,500 injured people within hours of the disaster.

'We're still afraid. We don't want to go home,' said Hendra, one of hundreds sheltering at Yogyakarta's Marganingsih Catholic Church.

Other witnesses in Yogyakarta said many people there had fled their homes while thousands from areas near the city were trying to get into it to take refuge, many initially fearing a tsunami.

[Seaweed]

pwned

[wtf]

terrible

[Maniac]

tl:dr

[VapoRub]

Originally Posted by Maniac

tl:dr

[welk]

fantastic. they are muslim

[WorldRunner]

Let's talk again when this happens to americans. Who cares what happens on other planets.

[theBruce80]

Yep God is punishing Gay People

[Chrisman5000]

Originally Posted by WorldRunner

Let's talk again when this happens to americans. Who cares what happens on other planets.

[newbtard]

Another round of aid that America will give that will be called "too small"

[Butthole Eliminator]

Originally Posted by WorldRunner

Let's talk again when this happens to americans. Who cares what happens on other planets.

america is a planet?

[fatman]

i heard it was 6.7

[raastin]

hope those little fuckers die

[GrazoTheClown]

Sucks that it has to happen to that region of the world so bad. You never hear of 250,000+ people getting killed over here in one day.

[curdledvomit]

they are located on whats called "the ring of fire". This is a circle of active volcanoes that are prone to eruptions, There is one of the most active near Java iirc...if it goes to blowing, well, it will get worse.