Solok, Indonesia – Imelda Kusmawati’s husband grabbed their two children and ran from the house when the ground reared up beneath them, cracking roads and collapsing nearby buildings in seconds. The powerful earthquake – the latest in a string of natural disasters to hit Indonesia – killed at least 52 people and injured hundreds.
“My house is on the brink of collapse,” said Kusmawati, 28, one of tens of thousands sleeping in tents or under the stars after Tuesday’s quake.
The 6.3-magnitude quake struck on Sumatra island just before 11 a.m. local time and was felt as far away as neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, where some tall buildings were evacuated. Two hours later, a 6.1 aftershock rattled the region.
In Solok, a bustling town close to the epicenter, two children were killed when a building collapsed on the school playground, said police spokesman Supriadi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. Three members of one family were burned alive when their collapsed home burst into flames.
Indonesia straddles one of the world’s most seismically violent zones and was hit hard by the 2004 Asian tsunami as 160,000 died on Sumatra. Since then, two other deadly quakes have occurred, as well as landslides, floods and volcanic eruptions.
Dozens of buildings were destroyed and hundreds of others damaged by Tuesday’s quake, according to local police chief Lt. Col. Budi Sarwono. TV footage showed a flattened home and cracks in the road.
At least 52 people were killed by the quake, which hit the island’s western coast, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi told reporters in the capital, Jakarta. Some 250 people were injured.
“Women were crying out in terror,” said Alpion, a welder who ran to higher ground, fearing a tsunami. “We all just fled as quickly as we could.”
