Monday, May 29, 2006
Indonesia quake toll over 5,100

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- The death toll from a major earthquake in Indonesia has risen to more than 5,100, officials said as aid began to trickle in to help 6,500 seriously injured and thousands more left homeless.

The quake, which struck in the early morning close to the former Javanese royal capital of Yogyakarta, has so far killed 5,136 people, wounded nearly 6,504 and left 100,000 homeless, according to the country's Social Affairs Ministry.

Heavy rain added to the misery Monday as grieving survivors scavenged for food in the debris of their houses. Rescuers are being hampered by rain, power outages and the closure of a local airport.

Meanwhile, the country's president has acknowledged a "lack of coordination" in efforts to help those near the epicenter of Saturday's quake on the densely-populated island of Java.

Slammed by some critics as being too slow to act in past disasters, Yudhoyono spent the first night after the quake sleeping in a tent along with survivors and moved his office to Yogyakarta to keep an eye on relief efforts, AP reported.

Hospitals have been overwhelmed by the injured --- 2,192 of the 4,000 hurt are seriously wounded --- and medical workers fear tens of thousands of injured may not be receiving adequate treatment.

Many people have been reluctant to enter hospitals because they fear structural damage from aftershocks. Since the quake struck before dawn on Saturday, there have been 450 aftershocks.

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Ring of fire


Indonesia sits on the Asia Pacific's so-called "ring of fire," marked by heavy volcanic and tectonic activity. Scientists are worried about the impact of the quake on Mount Merapi, which experts and villagers have watched closely in the past few weeks.

The nearby volcano has been rumbling for weeks, spewing out lava and hot gases.

On Monday the mountain spit out lava and hot clouds, sending debris four kilometers (2.5 miles) down its sides.

Since Saturday's quake, the volcano has spewed hot clouds an average of 150 times a day, compared to 50 times before, Subandriyo, chief of the Merapi volcanology and monitoring office who goes by one name, told AP.

Many aid workers anticipating a major eruption were stationed in the region, and they shifted their attention to helping earthquake survivors. Relief teams who remained in the area following the massive 2004 tsunami helped as well.

On Sunday, two strong earthquakes were reported in the Pacific, a 6.2-magnitude quake in Papua New Guinea and a 6.7-magnitude quake in Tonga.

The earthquake is the worst disaster in Indonesia since the December 26, 2004, magnitude-9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami, killing at least 131,029 people in Indonesia alone.

Another earthquake on March 28, 2005 killed about 900 people off the western coast of Sumatra.

ciaoz~


staticidiot wrote on 10:23 PM.