PADANG, Indonesia—Aid began to flow on Wednesday to survivors of deadly earthquakes in Indonesia's West Sumatra as rescue teams searched frantically for victims who may still be trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Officials said that between 70 and 100 people were killed by Tuesday's two quakes, which were also felt in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, but many more were injured and thousands spent a night in the open, frightened of further tremors.
The disaster management agency in West Sumatra province, where the 6.4 magnitude quake and another measuring 6.3 were centered, put the confirmed death figure at 72.
As dawn broke on Wednesday, thousands of people in Sumatra were camped in tents outside their homes or in open fields.
"I was cold last night because I only slept on a mat, I did not have a tent. I am afraid there will be another quake," said Soni Safmiwati, a 32-year-old mother of two who spent the night out in the open.
Authorities said dozens may still be trapped under rubble.
Rescuers amputated the arm of a man who lay crying and trapped under rubble for hours, but he later bled to death.
"We are still helping the victims today and are continuing field operations to work on the ruins of houses," Syamsu Rahim, the mayor of Solok, said.
"We are still telling people to continue to be alert and not believe every rumor ... so that they can start getting back to normal activities."
An official in Padang said on Wednesday that casualty figures were likely to rise because many people were still trapped and the rescue process would have to be done manually as heavy machinery cannot reach some areas.
Hospitals in some areas were overwhelmed with injured. Many people had fled their homes and fears of aftershocks pushed authorities in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital, to set up emergency tents at a soccer field.
Rapid Response
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had been scheduled to visit Medan in North Sumatra on Wednesday to watch a harvest event and meet local leaders, would go instead to Solok in West Sumatra, state news agency Antara reported.
The government sent in the military and police to assist with rescue efforts while the Red Cross also deployed a rapid-response team to assess the damage and needs of victims.
Some residents in three badly hit areas—Solok, Tanah Datar and Padang Panjang—erected tents outside their damaged homes, moved in with relatives or spent the night in schools and mosques.
The government and Red Cross distributed food supplies such as cooking oil and rice, tents and medicine and drinking water.
The ministry of health had prepared six metric tons of food, porridge and biscuits for victims, Antara reported.
United Nations aid agencies said a team of health, sanitation and nutrition experts would arrive in the affected area "on the first available flight" to assess the situation.
Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most-populous country. Its 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity, part of what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
A quake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra island in December 2004 and the tsunami it caused left about 170,000 people dead or missing in northern Aceh province.
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