Shallow inland earthquakes generally are more destructive, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injures from yesterday’s quake.
On Wednesday, buildings swayed hundreds of miles away in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
In Padang, the capital of West Sumatra Province, the shaking was so intense that people crouched or sat on the street to avoid falling. Children screamed as an exodus of thousands tried to get away from the coast in cars and motorbikes.
At least 500 buildings in Padang collapsed or were badly damaged, and 200 bodies had been pulled from the rubble there, said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Agency. The extent of damage in surrounding areas was still unclear due to poor communications, Kardono said.
Padang’s mayor appealed for assistance on Indonesian radio station el-Shinta.
“We are overwhelmed with victims and lack of clean water, electricity and telecommunications,’’ Mayor Fauzi Bahar said. “We really need help. We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured.’’
Hundreds of people were trapped under collapsed buildings in Padang alone, including a four-star hotel, Bahar said.
Thousands were believed trapped throughout the province, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry’s crisis center.
“This is a high-scale disaster,’’ Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told Metro TV.
Indonesian broadcaster TVOne showed footage of heavy equipment breaking through a flattened three-story cement building, where dozens or children had been taking classes. It said more than 30 children were missing and feared dead but gave no source for the information.
The initial quake struck just off the coast of Padang, the US Geological Survey reported. It occurred a day after a tsunami hit islands in the South Pacific.
A tsunami warning was issued yesterday for countries along the Indian Ocean but was lifted after about an hour. There were no reports of giant waves.
