2000 Sumatra Earthquake - Damage and Casualties

Damage and Casualties

The earthquake struck at 23:30 local time, its magnitude reaching a "major" 7.9. Aftershocks began striking as soon as 11 minutes after the earthquake, the first one surpassing magnitude 6.5. At least 103 people were killed by the earthquake, and 2,174 more were left injured. The Indonesian Red Cross later reported that 788 had been injured to concern, and 1,709 more were considered injured—the organization reported that the numbers were rapidly increasing.

Extensive damage and landslides populated the Bengkulu area, with minor injuries and damage on Enggano Island. In the village worst struck, several hundred structures were reported in ruins. Peter Walker of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva denied the earthquake as the major cause of death, instead blaming disease. "...the actual damage from the earthquake isn't that great; the houses are wooden structures so they don't collapse much. But what he found was an endemic problem of rampant malaria, rampant communicable diseases and levels of mortality and morbidity that are totally unacceptable. That is the disaster, not the earthquake." An aftershock measuring 6.2 struck on June 7.