印尼地震遇難者人數上升
The death toll continues to rise from a strong earthquake that struck Indonesia early Wednesday.
Local officials said at least 97 people were dead and hundreds more injured in Pidie Jaya, the district closest to the quake's epicenter, on the northern end of Indonesia's Sumatra island. The town of Meureudu was among the hardest hit areas.
The shaking brought down dozens of buildings, including mosques, stores and homes. Rescue crews were searching through rubble for people who may be trapped underneath.
"The earthquake was felt strongly and many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed," Sutopo Nugroho of the country's national disaster management agency said in a statement.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.5 quake was centered near the town of Reuleut. Indonesia's Climate, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the earthquake did not generate a tsunami.
Indonesia is located in an area of the world prone to earthquakes. A 2004 quake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 in Indonesia and other countries.
The threat of a repeat of that disaster was on the minds of some of those who felt Wednesday's earthquake.印尼星期三早上發生強烈地震，死亡人數仍在上升。
當地官員說，印尼蘇門答臘島北端距離震中最近的畢迪賈雅區有至少97人遇難，幾百人受傷。梅雷杜縣是受災最嚴重的地區之一。
地震造成房屋倒塌，包括清真寺、商店和住宅。救援人員在瓦礫中尋找生還者。
印尼救災部門官員蘇託波·努格魯霍在聲明中說：“地震震感強烈，在房屋倒塌的時候，許多人慌亂地逃到室外。”
美國地質勘探局說，這次6.5級地震震中在魯特勒鎮附近。印尼氣候，氣象和地球物理局說，地震沒有引發海嘯。
印尼所處位置多發地震。2004年蘇門答臘島地震引發海嘯，造成印尼等國23萬人喪生。
星期三的地震讓很多人擔心2004年的災難會重演。
