After a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia’s Aceh province on the morning of Dec. 7, the cities surrounding the earthquake are left in ruins.
With massive pieces of debris and rubble piled up, the search for survivors is on. With already 97 casualties, the citizens of Indonesia are preparing for the worst.
“Now our priority is the search and rescue operation,” said National Board for Disaster Management spokesman Sutopo Purwo at a news conference in Jakarta.
The Indonesian president Joko Widodo has asked for immediate assistance in Aceh after the quake hit.
According to CNN, “They’ll be our eyes and ears on the ground and be able to give us a much clearer picture of what the [needs] are,” said Peter Kern, the organization’s disaster preparedness project manager.
There is a silver lining to this disaster. There has been no warning of a tsunami so far. After the last tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, the citizens wounds about this topic are still raw.
“They are still traumatized by the last big earthquake and tsunami in 2004,” Sutopo said.
This earthquake was the second strongest in the country this year, but it was the most devastating.
In the 2004 tsunami, more than 88,000 citizens of Indonesia were killed. Citizens are hoping that this latest earthquake will not bring another tragic disaster.