Aid Groups Reaching Quake-Ravaged Indonesia

By PETER GELLING
October 2, 2009

PADANG, Indonesia — International aid organizations began arriving in force in this Sumatran port city on Friday in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that destroyed huge swaths of this provincial capital two days ago.

All across Padang, rescue workers raked through rubble beneath a scorching sun — but admitted they were finding few survivors. Many said they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the destruction. By some estimates, more than half of the buildings in this city of 900,000 collapsed in the 7.6-magnitude quake.

The United Nations Office for Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs arrived at the governor’s mansion on Friday morning to begin organizing the international relief effort. A spokeswoman for the agency said they were expecting the death toll, which she put at 1,100, to “rise significantly.” the rest

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