Cover image via Reuters
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck the province of Aceh on Wednesday at 5.03am Indonesian local time (6am Malaysian time).
The strong undersea quake was centered about 10 kilometers at a depth of 17.2 kilometers, north of Reuleut, a town in northern Aceh.
According to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, at least 52 people have died and dozens are trapped in the rubble from the earthquake at dawn.
Indonesia's TVOne station quoted the acting governor of Aceh, Soedarmo as saying that rescue efforts are underway in Meureudu, one of the severely affected towns in the Pidie Jaya district.
"Some of the fatalities are children," informed Said Mulyadi, deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya, which is the region hit hardest by the quake, to Agence France-Presse (AFP.)
Said Mulyadi, the deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya also said that eight children were among the dead and that the injured are pouring into local hospitals to seek treatment.
"The hospital here couldn't take the patients, so we sent some to the neighbouring district," added Said.
AFP reported that Sulaiman, a local disaster official, telling Indonesia's MetroTV that a woman and her two children were killed in Pidie Jaya, which is located 18 kilometers southwest of the epicenter.
He also said that a few mosques, stores, houses and other buildings too have collapsed in Pidie Jaya. Residents at a nearby town, Lhokseumawe, apparently ran out of their house in panic when they felt the earthquake.
People were either asleep or getting ready for morning prayers at the predominantly Muslim place when the quake struck at dawn. One of the local residents, Hasbi Jaya said that his family was asleep when the incident happened.
"We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled. Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed, and was destroyed. I looked around and all my neighbours' houses were also completely destroyed." said Hasbi, as reported by AFP.
Rescuers carrying the body of a victim that was recovered from a collapsed building in Pidie Jaya.
Image via AP
Meanwhile, at the time of reporting, Pidie Jaya district chief said that hundreds of people are injured and more than 40 buildings have been destroyed in the earthquake
Abbas also mentioned that the local authorities are currently trying to move the debris to recover the bodies and locate anyone who is trapped.
"Some people are still trapped inside shophouses, and we are trying to evacuate them using heavy machines and by hand," local agency head Puteh Manaf told AFP.
Eridawati, the head of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said that about five aftershocks followed the earthquake.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) had issued a yellow alert, expecting fatalities and damages.
"Some casualties and damage are possible and the impact should be relatively localised," said USGS.
Heavy equipment being used up to clean up a petrol station and coffee shop where 10 people are believed to be trapped in Pidie Jaya.
Image via Twitter/ IloveAceh
Here are some of the photos that show the true extent of devastation following the early morning earthquake:
Image via AFP/Getty
