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March 2007 Sumatra earthquakes

Date	March 6, 2007 (2007-03-06)
Magnitude	6.4 Mw, 6.3 Mw
Countries/ regions affected	Indonesia
Casualties	68 fatalities; over 460 serious injuries[1]

The March 2007 Sumatra earthquakes were two earthquakes which hit near the northern end of Lake Singkarak in Sumatra, Indonesia, on March 6, 2007 within two hours of each other.^[2][3]

Earthquakes

The initial quake at 10:49 (03:49 UTC) measured 6.4 on the Moment magnitude scale and the second quake at 12:49 (05:49 UTC) measured 6.3.^[2][3] The earthquakes were felt as far away as Singapore and Malaysia, which prompted the evacuation of some buildings there.^[4]

Effects

Over 60 fatalities and 460 serious injuries have been reported, spread across many towns and regencies in West Sumatra.^[1] Over 43,000 houses were damaged, with over 12,000 of those severely damaged.^[5] The severe damage to other structures includes over 130 public facilities, 310 mosques, 60 government buildings, 370 schools, and 230 shops.^[5] According to the governor of West Sumatra, Agam Regency is the worst affected area, though other areas including Solok Regency and Tanah Datar are also badly affected.^[6] The total value of damages is estimated to be around 1.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah (USD$160 million).^[5]

Response

A variety of local and international aid organizations have deployed to the region to assist victims. A number of countries have pledged aid, including the Netherlands (US$2.0 million), Sweden (US$1.0 million), Canada (US$0.21 million), Malaysia (US$0.16 million), United States (US$0.1 million) and Taiwan (US$0.06 million). The US AID has supplied them with all sorts of essentials like blankets, water, food and first aid kits.

References