At least 43,000 people have been displaced by the earthquake that hit Aceh province on Wednesday, Indonesian authorities said. Officials expect the figure to rise as relief operations spread out into the affected areas, AP reported. The toll in the disaster is around a 100 people.
“The basic needs of refugees must be met during the evacuation,” the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement that. The relief agency added that aid and rescue teams were coordinating their operations from the worst-affected district of Pidie Jaya. Sniffer dogs are being used to locate bodies.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited the earthquake hit areas and assured the survivors of assistance in rebuilding their homes and localities.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at a depth of 17 km on Aceh’s northeastern coast around 5 am (local time) on Wednesday. The region has been hit by a number of aftershocks since then.
Indonesia, especially the Aceh province, is prone to earthquakes as it lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a high-seismic activity zone. In 2004, the province was the worst affected by the 9.2-magnitude temblor that had triggered a devastating tsunami in the region. More than 1.2 lakh people were killed in Aceh alone.
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