Indonesia: quake victims face difficulties in getting aid

Tens of thousands of Indonesians displaced by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Padang last week face an uncertain future with their homes in ruins and livelihoods destroyed. Life is especially difficult for those living in the rural areas, as landslides caused by the earthquake buried their homes and cut off roads for aid relief. More than 1,500 quake victims are now gathered in and around a market in Sungei Batang, more than 140 kilometres from Padang's city centre. The local government had advised many quake victims to come to the town centre for aid relief as it was deemed unsafe for them to stay in the affected rural areas. Local officials said many landslides in these areas had made it impossible for aid relief to reach the affected villages on a sustainable basis. Padang lies on one of the most active faultlines in the world, but a geologist said the city had been ill-prepared and remained at risk of being wiped out in the next decade by a more powerful earthquake.