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West Sumatra loses entire hamlets under landslides
Edi Arman waited patiently as rescue workers dug up where their homes used to be
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Edi Arman waited patiently as rescue workers dug up where their homes used to be.
"Everytime they try I wait, hoping the one they dig up would be my relative," he said Saturday in Lubuk Laweh in Patemuan district, Padang Pariaman regency.
Three hamlets have gone and 400 people are feared dead as the earthquake that shook West Sumatra on Wednesday produced a landslide that pushed the hamlets of Kapalo Koto, Cumanak and Lubuk Laweh into a river.
An area of at least five square kilometers was buried by a huge landslide falling down from the nearby hills. A mosque which had stood 30 meters high disappeared with the hamlets.
"I lost 60 relatives in all three hamlets," said Edi, 59, who was born and raised in Lubuk Laweh but moved out several years ago.
Edi said only two of his relatives survived the disaster.
Locals say hundreds of people were attending a wedding party when the quake struck.
"We came here on Thursday; locals cried for our help as soon as they saw us," said Abdullah, a member of the Police Mobile Brigade from the neighboring province of South Sumatra.
Searching for victims has been painfully difficult on the rough terrain. All the hamlets stood on the side of the Batang Mangua river, with only a small road connecting them. Any heavy machinery needed to help in the search had to cross a wooden bridge to get to the site.
Search workers, totaling around 120 personnel from the police, military and national search and rescue agency were practically using their bare hands to try to dig out bodies.
"If we can't find a body after digging more than two meters deep, we give up," he said.
Only 18 bodies had been recovered as of Saturday afternoon.
Zakharuddin, 42, a resident of Lubuk Laweh lost his wife, their two children, their home and most of his belongings.
"I found my wife's body drifting by the river," he said matter-of-factly, as he collected clothes from the ruins of his home.
He was out of the hamlet when the quake struck, and had only been able to get back on Thursday.
"My daughter was 18 years old and my son was three-and-a half-years old. They are probably right there," he said pointing to the sticky mud that covered what was his home.
Zakharuddin now lives with his mother in a nearby village.
"I really would dig to find my children, but how? Are there others to help me?"
Hundreds of people from nearby villages have swarmed into the area, some coming only to watch, but more coming to find news of their families.
Head of the crisis center at the Ministry of Health, Rustam Pakaya, said that it would be useless to carry on the search.
"Let the rest go. Excavating the area will only spark diseases," Rustam said, quoted by kompas.com. "The hamlet is completely flattened."
Syofiardi Bachyul contributed to the report from Padang.
