Indonesia UPDATE:4000 Buried Under Earthquake Rubble

Indonesia UPDATE:4000 Buried Under Earthquake Rubble in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Indonesia with a rising death toll of 540.

A 7.6 magnitude quake struck Sumatra on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009, and a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Thursday morning, October 1st, 2009, in the same hard hit area..

Wednesday’s Sumatra earthquake, reduced buildings to rubble through out the city. People frantically used hammers, chisels and bare hands to dig through debris for survivors and belongings they could still use.

Staff at a local hospital treated the injured outside a semi-collapsed hospital as bodies of those dead, lay in makeshift morgues.

If you look at the area hardest hit, you will see an area that now looks like a flattened mess of destruction, where just days ago, there stood a group of three villages.

Officials now believe that 90 percent of Sumatra residents, as many as a few hundred people, were buried, just one piece of the devastation from two large earthquakes that struck Indonesia back to back.

Indonesia UPDATE:4000 Buried Under Earthquake Rubble and Indonesia’s health ministry and ministry of social affairs stated Friday, that they believe thousands remain buried beneath rubble, as the unmistakable smell of death permeates the air.

A White House statement declares that Obama “offered, on behalf of the United States, to do everything we can to help alleviate the suffering and provide assistance to the relief operation.”

Telecommunications are difficult in the hard hit region, roads are cut off, bridges down and the hardest-hit area, including Padang, lacks power and other services. In addition, heavy rainfall has hindered search and rescue efforts of those lost and burried under rubble.

“Aftershocks can be just as devastating as the initial quake,” said Adjie Fachrurrazi, emergency response coordinator in Indonesia for the CARE aid organization, in a statement. “After an earthquake of this size, we know the immediate needs are going to be getting safe water, food and emergency supplies to the survivors. The question now is: How bad is it? We’re hoping for the best, but the information so far is not looking good.”

Earlier this month, an earthquake in West Java killed 57 people. This region has had it share of disasters. For the full story of “Indonesia UPDATE:4000 Buried Under Earthquake Rubble,” got to CNN News.