Indonesia quake: Search for survivors continues

Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors in Indonesia’s Aceh province a day after a powerful quake struck the area killing 102 people.

Thousands of people who lost their homes are taking refuge in shelters.

President Joko Widodo, who is currently in Bali, has told reporters he will visit Aceh soon but has not given a date yet.

On Thursday, the government said it was sending more heavy machinery to lift larger pieces of rubble and concrete.

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Aceh says that in the town of Meureudu, which suffered the most damage, attention is focused on a market, where more than 20 bodies were pulled out on Wednesday.

About 245 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Pidie Jaya and the neighbouring Bireuen district, including homes, shops and mosques.

The powerful quake also cracked roads and toppled electricity poles.

Local disaster agency head Puteh Manaf told AFP news agency that there was a power shortage in Pidie Jaya.

Pidie Jaya is along the north coast of Aceh, and has a population of about 150,000. It is about 110 km (68 miles) from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, which also felt Wednesday’s earthquake.

Officials said many people in Aceh were in need of basic supplies like food and water.

Hundreds of soldiers and police officers have been deployed to set up more shelters – where many people are staying because of fears of tsunami and aftershocks.

One resident called Hamdani told the BBC: “This earthquake was stronger than the 2004 tsunami, the terror and shakes from this earthquake were stronger.

We immediately ran outside. Our house is close to the sea so we wanted to get to safer ground; we learnt that lesson from the tsunami.”

The province’s disaster mitigation agency said more than 600 people were injured by the quake.