Reformed Church World Service is responding to this crisis with its partner, Church World Service.

A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s island of Sumatra on September 30, striking near the provincial capital, Padang, a city of 900,00 people. A day later, a second earthquake struck. The quakes measured 7.6 and 6.8 on the Richter scale.

The United Nations estimates that more than one thousand people have perished in the quake. The number is expected to rise in coming days as the rubble is cleared and a more accurate count of those missing is compiled. Overworked rescuers continue to frantically search through the rubble of schools and other buildings.

“We have pulled out 38 children since the quake,” said rescue team leader Suria. “Some of them on the first day were alive, but the last few have all been dead.”
Government officials have warned that the extent of the damage for the quake could be as bad as that caused by a 2006 earthquake in Yogyakarta, Java, which killed 5,000 people and damaged 150,000 homes.

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