Photo Credits: USA Today

INDONESIA Numbers of missing people rises to 3,000 in Padang, Indonesia. Death toll of 715 declared dead by the Indonesian government. Earthquake with magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter Scale hit the island of Sumatra. Padang, Sumatra’s capital with at least 1 million residents was hit the hardest. The quake buried and devastated the city and nearby villages last Wednesday , September 30, 2009.

Rescue efforts was sent by the Singaporean government and Singaporean Armed Forces (SAF) set a medical clinic in Pariaman, north of Padang. Japan Disaster Team headed by Hiroaki Sano, assisted in the search and rescue of landslide survivors. Rapid UK and International Rescue Corps sent first British rescuers on the ground. Heat sensor cameras and lifting equipment were used to find survivors.

Sniffer dogs and rescue equipments were sent to look for buried cadavers. Another team dug through Ambacang hotel in response to a received text message believed to have come from the rubble of the hotel. Newmont Emergency Rescue Team suspected that the chances of finding survivors were very slim.

The United Nations predict that the death toll could rise to 1,100. Nearby villages near Padang were flattened. In Pulau Aiya Village, hundreds of people gathered for a wedding celebration right before the earthquake hit. At least 400 attendees were victims or suffered injuries from the quake.

As of this writing, rescue efforts were for surviving victims were halted. The first 100 hours produced no surviving victims gave rescuers little hope in finding victims alive. It is doubted that rescuers will find more victims alive as the tropical heat has already produced a foul stench by buried cadavers. The concern for rescuers contracting diseases was one of the reasons of halting the dig as most areas are only accessible by foot.

Instead of using the aid for digging and re-burying, Indonesian government would re-focus their aid to surviving victims who need water, food and shelter. “Instead of the extra cost of evacuating the corpses, it’s better to allocate the money for the living,” Ade Edward, the head of the West Sumatra earthquake co-ordinating desk told local Kompas newspaper.

Let us pray our Indonesian neighbor in these times of calamity. Manila, Philippines suffered flash flooding almost the same time as earthquake in Indonesia hit. Let us pray for this nation that the they will rebuild and recover. Let us pray for the rebuilding of most Southeast Asian nations.

The list of devastation is unusually high within the last two weeks. Samoa Islands was hit by a 8.0 earthquake, Indonesia with 7.9, the Philippines with Flash flooding from Ondoy and torrential rains from Pepeng. With the many survivors from these nations, let us think of them in our prayers.

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mahalia is is a mom of three, devoted wife and is still traversing life as an immigrant. She blogs at Chocolateword and is currently an apprentice at a Christian Writer’s Guild. Currently based in the US, Mahalia is currently taking Creative Writing at UCLA.