More than 100 people were killed in the quake that hit the northeast of Aceh province on Sumatra<\/p>\n
Aceh: Indonesia\u2019s president travelled on Friday to areas of Aceh province devastated by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake and vowed that torn-apart communities would be rebuilt.
\nStopping at a collapsed mosque in Tringgading not far from the quake\u2019s epicenter, Joko \u201cJokowi\u201d Widodo gave out envelopes stuffed with 15 million rupiah (US$1,125) \u2013 a small fortune in Aceh where the minimum wage is about 2 million rupiah (US$150) a month \u2013 to people whose family members were killed.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve already decided that the mosque will be rebuilt as soon as possible, but we have to do it together starting tomorrow,\u201d he told the crowd.
\nMore than 100 people were killed in the quake that hit the northeast of Aceh province on Sumatra before dawn on Wednesday. Hundreds of people were injured and more than 11,000 buildings destroyed or heavily damaged. About 10,000 people are living in temporary shelters or staying with relatives.
\nKiller quakes occur regularly in the region, where many live with the terrifying memory of a giant December 26, 2004 earthquake that struck off Sumatra. The 9.1-magnitude quake triggered a devastating tsunami that killed more than 100,000 Acehnese.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what to do but I\u2019m really thankful for this [donation],\u201d said Miftahuddin, who received 15 million rupiah from Jokowi. \u201cBecause we don\u2019t have anything left.\u201d
\nA substantial relief effort is underway involving the government, military and international humanitarian organisations.
\nEarlier Friday morning, Jokowi and his entourage visited a hospital in the town of Sigli where the injured are being treated. The damaged hospital in Pidie Jaya district near the epicentre has been overwhelmed and some patients were accommodated in tents on its grounds.
\nMohammad Reza, the hospital director, said Jokowi handed out envelopes containing 5 million rupiah (US$375) to each of the injured.
\n\u201cHis visit is likely a motivation for the victims to move on,\u201d Reza said.
\nSniffer dogs joined a search for survivors in the hard-hit town of Meureudu, where a market filled with shop houses was largely flattened.
\nDarma Yanti, who ran a garment business in the market with her husband, said it was a miracle she survived both Wednesday\u2019s earthquake and the 2004 tsunami.
\nYanti and her husband, who have a 10-month-old baby, were awakened by a strong jolt that was quickly followed by a boom as their building swayed. Only later did she realise the explosion-like sound was an adjacent row of shop houses collapsing.
\n\u201cI heard people shouting from the debris: men, women, children,\u201d Yanti said, sobbing. \u201cOh my God, I know some of them well. They are my friends, my neighbours, but I can\u2019t do anything to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 100 people were killed in the quake that hit the northeast of Aceh province on Sumatra Aceh: Indonesia\u2019s president travelled on Friday to areas of Aceh province devastated by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake and vowed that torn-apart communities would be rebuilt. Stopping at a collapsed mosque in Tringgading not far from the quake\u2019s epicenter, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n