Powerful Tectonic Earthquake Made West Sumatra "Cry"

A powerful tectonic earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale which rocked Sumatra on Wednesday (Sept.30) at 5.16 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time had killed at least 75 people.

The death toll in a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that devastated West Sumatra province on Wednesday evening rose to 75 by 10.00 p.m., a National Disasters Mitigation Board (BNPB) report said.

"The figure may increase. Details of dead victims are also not available because communications are disrupted," BNPB Chief Secretary Purnomo Sidik said.

The dead have been evacuated to the M Jamil general hospital in Padang. In addition, it also rained heavily in West Sumatra`s capital of Padang which made evacuation efforts difficult.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophyics Agency the epicenter of the quake was located 0.84 degrees southern latitude and 99.65 degrees northern longitude, around 57 kilometers northwest of Pariaman district, West Sumatra, at a depth of 71 kilometers. It was about 78 km northwest of Padang, 99 km southwest of Bukit Tinggi, 106 km northeast of Mentawai Islands.

The quake`s tremors were also felt in the provinces of Riau, North Sumatra, Bengkulu and even Singapore.

Electricity in West Sumatra is almost paralyzed after the strong struck the province on Wednesday afternoon.

The devastating quake caused the supporting infrastructure such as the main powerhouse, electric poles and the office buildings of the state-run power company PT PLN badly damaged, PLN`s technical manager overseeing Riau Islands M Shodiq told Antara at an emergency command post on Wednesday night.

"The most serious damage occurred in the city of Padang which was still without electricity. All PLN offices in the region could not be contacted, except by PLN`s radio communication," he said.

Based on the last report by 9 p.m, the damage to infrastructure in some areas in West Sumatra is difficult to repair, he said.

Four main powerhouses (GI) respectively Simpang Empat, Maninjau, Pauh Limo and the PIP were still out of order, he said.

In addition, as many as 10 smaller powerhouses reportedly collapsed.

The earthquake also caused a disruption of the hydro-electric power plants (PLTAs) in Singkarak and Maninjau, he said.

However, PLN officials have tried to restore the generators of the PLTAs, he said, adding that the Ombilin power plant operated normally.

Damage also occurred in several PLN buildings, he cited, noting that the West Sumatra PLN office building was also badly damaged because its roof collapsed

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