Survivors pick up the pieces after Indonesia quake (News Feature)

By Ahmad Pathoni Oct 6, 2009, 5:08 GMT

   Padang, Indonesia - Survivors of an earthquake that devastated Indonesia's West Sumatra province began picking up the pieces of their damaged lives and homes Tuesday.

   In a predominantly Chinese quarter in the provincial capital, Padang, residents collected their belongings from the ruins of their homes, some of which were built during colonial times.

   'I don't know where to go and how to get the money to rebuild my home,' said Kristanti Willie, a mother of three young children who teaches at a Christian school.

   The walls of Kristanti's three-storey home were blown off by the force of Wednesday's magnitude-7.6 quake, exposing the interior of the building. Tiles were ripped off the floor, as if the house had been bombed.

   Her brother suffered head injuries caused by falling concrete bricks.

   Kristanti, 45, complained that she had not received any emergency assistance from the government.

   One of her sons, bespectacled Valentinus, collected his school books and put them in a rattan basket.

   The official death toll from the earthquake stood at 625 while the number of people listed as missing and believed buried under the rubble was 293.

   However, the Health Ministry's crisis centre put the death toll from the quake at more than 1,200.

   At least 178,671 homes were damaged and some 88,300 homes and other buildings were destroyed, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

   The damage in the so-called Chinese Village in Padang's coastal area was widespread.

   Shops, houses and office buildings crumbled with only second or third storeys standing and many cars were sandwiched between concrete floors in garages.

   Amid the devastation, some shops selling bread, groceries and even mobile phone cards were open.

   Outside Meliana's collapsed two-storey house, parts of a wheelchair lay strewn across the street.

   Meliana said her disabled husband was rushed outside by her son just before the building collapsed.

   'We were lucky no one in our family died,' she said, as workers loaded concrete slabs from her house into a truck. 'Two of our neighbours were killed.'

   On Monday night, workers began demolishing buildings badly damaged by the quake, including Padang's landmark Ambacang hotel where dozens were believed trapped. Hours earlier, the government announced that the search for survivors was called off in Padang as hopes finding anyone alive under the rubble faded.

   Rescue workers were directing their attention to caring for survivors and providing relief supplies to remote areas that suffered the brunt of the disaster.

   Many quake victims complained they had received little or no aid.

   In Padang Pariaman district, people stopped aid convoys and took supplies by force out of desperation, a medical aid worker said Monday.

   'There's a lot of anger among survivors because they have not received any assistance,' said Ridwan Gustiana, a doctor who worked with the Ibu Foundation aid group.

   Indonesian Welfare Minsiter Aburizal Bakrie said the government had allocated 6 trillion rupiah (625 million dollars) for the rebuilding of the quake-hit areas and another 100 billion rupiah in emergency funds.    

   Half of the 6 trillion rupiah would go towards repairing homes and providing basic necessities to the people, he said.

   In Padang, life was slowly returning to normal, with students returning to school and banks and shops reopening, though many homes were still without running water and power was still out in many parts of the city.