Nearly 100 people were killed Wednesday as the Indonesian coastal area hit by the massive 2004 earthquake tsunami was struck again.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 6.5-magnitude quake happened just off the coast of Aceh province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The epicenter was six miles north of the coastal town of Reuleut.
Aiyub Abbas, the district chief of Pidie Jaya, said 25 people were killed in his district alone, which lies nearest to the offshore quake’s epicenter. There were also fatalities in the nearby district of Bireuen, according to health officials there.
The Associated Press said the death toll has climbed to 97.
The 6.5 earthquake was hundreds of times less powerful than the 9.0+ temblor in the same part of the Sumatran coast that touched off a tsunami that killed about a quarter-million people around the Indian Ocean. And the quake was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami, according to Indonesia’s Climate, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
But the tremor was quite powerful enough to level hundreds of buildings and leave whole villages in ruins, according to local officials.
Suyatno, the leader of Aceh province’s search and rescue agency, said three people are believed buried under debris in the town of Meureudu and excavators were trying to save them. Mr. Abbas told reporters that his district badly needs more excavation equipment and emergency supplies.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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