Thousands of people are feared dead after Wednesday’s powerful earthquake in the Padang region on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Many of them are still trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.  Rescue work is being hampered by damaged infrastructure and the lack of electricity, running water and fuel.

Communication with the area is still very difficult, but reports from the region tell a story of devastation and chaos. Many people are looking desperately for missing relatives or friends.

Several aid organisations have now arrived in the area. One of them is The IBU Foundation, an Indonesian organisation founded after the 2004 tsunami. Program Director Andry Wasesa told Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) that the conditions for aid workers are difficult.

No access
“There is no access to the area by land”, he says. “We can only get there by ship or plane. What we found when we arrived was that there are problems with electricity, running water and fuel, but food is still available."

IBU will provide medical assistance to victims and will help in distributing food and other aid.

You can listen to our interview with Mr Wasesa here.

Cordoned off
Dutchman Klaas de Jong, who lives in Padang, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that police has cordoned off the city centre to enable aid and rescue workers to continue their search for victims and survivors. "I can see many bulldozers, cranes and other machines there", he says.

"But many buildings have collapsed. We have several three and four-star hotels here, and they're all gone".

"We are used to small earthquakes here, but this one was different", he continues. "I was in my car and I moved sideways from left to right, but also up and down. I had never experienced that before. I saw electricity poles falling, dust clouds caused by explosions and collapsed shops around me".

Relatives
For Indonesians with relatives in the area, news is hard to come by. Radio Netherlands’  Fediya Andina of RNW's Indonesian service has relatives living in the affected region. “My grandmother could leave her house in time and she has now opened up her house as a shelter for nine families”, she says. “They’re afraid to return to their own homes. They have built tents and my grandmother is giving them food and water”.

Fediya hasn’t been able to contact her parents yet, as communication with the area is limited.
 

“I know many people there personally”, she says. “I’m still positive, I hope they’re OK. I hope they managed to flee their homes in time and that they are still alive”.

You can listen to our interview with Ms Andina here.

Photo courtesy of IBU Foundation.