Tens of thousands homeless after Indonesian earthquake

Tens of thousands homeless after Indonesian earthquake

BY Michael D. Regan December 10, 2016 at 1:17 PM EST

A man retrieves fans from a collapsed shop following a strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 8, 2016.

A man retrieves fans from a collapsed shop following a strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 8, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that rocked Indonesia’s island of Sumatra this week has left tens of thousands homeless.

The quake killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more on Wednesday, damaging or toppling more than 11,000 buildings and displacing more than 45,000 people in the northern province of Aceh, according to the country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

“The basic needs of refugees must be met during the evacuation,” the agency said in statement.
A woman and her child stay in temporary shelter at a mosque following this week's strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX2UD7E

A woman and her child stay in temporary shelter at a mosque following this week’s strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 10, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

In an interview with the PBS NewsHour this week, Reuters correspondent Kanupriya Kapoor described buildings several stories tall that were completely flattened, including mosques, after the quake struck close to land.

“What we saw was pretty widespread destruction in urban centers,” she said. “More recently we heard that more supplies are starting to stream in.”

Rescue workers continue digging through rubble searching for survivors in the town of Meureudu and several other locations, the Associated Press reported.

“We believe we have found 99 percent of the victims,” said Sutopo Nugroho, a spokesman for national disaster management agency told Reuters.

The government in Aceh has declared a two-week state of emergency while Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with survivors, many of whom were treated in makeshift medical tents.

The quake struck Pidie Jaya in the Aceh region, an area devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami that killed more than 120,000 people there.

See more photos below:
Women look out from a tent while waiting for Indonesian President Joko Widodo to walk by on the grounds of a collapsed mosque following this week's earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 9, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

Women look out from a tent while waiting for Indonesian President Joko Widodo to walk by on the grounds of a collapsed mosque following this week’s earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 9, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters
People prepare to spend the night in a makeshift outdoor shelter following a strong earthquake near Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 8, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

People prepare to spend the night in a makeshift outdoor shelter following a strong earthquake near Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 8, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters
A boy carrying an aid package leaves a temporary shelter at a mosque following this week's strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 10, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

A boy carrying an aid package leaves a temporary shelter at a mosque following this week’s strong earthquake in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia December 10, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters
Men look for items to salvage from a building which collapsed following this week's strong earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 10, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters

Men look for items to salvage from a building which collapsed following this week’s strong earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 10, 2016. Photo By Darren Whiteside/Reuters