Relief efforts in the earthquake disaster area in western Sumatra are being severely hampered by heavy rainfall.  

Rescue workers are still looking for victims among the ruins in the port of Padang, but there is no hope of finding survivors five days after the tremor struck. The authorities are trying to recover the dead as fast as they can to prevent outbreaks of infectious disease. The UN says at least 1,100 people were killed, but the final death toll could be as high as 5,000.

Kompas, one of Indonesia's leading daily newspapers, quoted the head of the West Sumatra earthquake coordinating desk as saying that three hamlets in the foothills of the Gunung Tigo would be declared mass graves. "Instead of the extra cost of evacuating the corpses, it's better to allocate the money for the living," he said. The hamlets were destroyed in landslides and now lie buried under metres of earth. The Indonesian health authorities say five villages 40 kilometres north of Padang suffered a similar fate.

Since Friday 2 October, Radio Netherlands Worldwide has been providing an emergency short wave service for victims and aid workers in Sumatra. The radio broadcasts, in Indonesian, will continue for at least the next few days and are also available via local partner stations and on our Indonesian website www.ranesi.nl