Sumatra earthquake relief update (Apr 1-Apr 2)

There seems to be a downward revision of the death toll. According to this AFP report:

A total of 424 people were confirmed dead on Nias and 31 in Aceh province from Monday night's 8.7-magnitude earthquake in Sumatra - which had barely recovered from the Dec. 26 quake-driven tsunami, said Col. Zainuri Lubis, a local police officer compiling a list of the dead. The government said the final death toll will be about 500, lowering earlier estimates of 2,000.

The damage to property on Nias:

1,936 houses were damaged or collapsed in the quake along with 122 shops, 11 mosques, 83 churches, one Buddhist temple, 30 government buildings and 78 schools.

The report also says that operations have shifted from rescue to relief, as also stated in this CNA report:

NIAS, Indonesia: Search and rescue efforts to find survivors in earthquake-stricken Nias seem to have come to an end as heavy equipment is being brought in to clear the rubble.

The Indonesian authorities say chances of finding survivors trapped after four days are slim.

Search and rescue efforts have been difficult as most of the buildings in the town of Gunung Sitoli collapsed inwards, which leaves little room to escape for those trapped at the ground floor.

The Singapore Civil Defence Team has so far rescued one survivor and extricated nine bodies since they arrived in Nias on Tuesday.

More on the work of Singaporeans from this CNA report:

SINGAPORE: While Singapore Armed Forces' Chinook helicopters continue to airlift aid to earthquake-hit Nias and evacuate casualties to Medan for medical treatment, the Singapore Red Cross is sending about S$1 million worth of relief supplies to the island.

The supplies will set sail on a barge on Monday and will arrive on Wednesday. The shipment includes water treatment plants, water, and medical and food items to fill at least 30,000 family packs. A pick-up truck will also be on the barge.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said at an event on Friday that Singapore's Relief Mission is working very closely with Indonesian counterparts on the ground. The Defence Minister said, "The most critical area is transportation, because Nias is an island. The normal facilities, like the port, (are) not in working order.So until then, Chinooks play an important role. And of course, medical facilities.

"Right now, rescue is critical - time is of the essence, both in rescue as well as medical...It's not the numbers that are so important, but it's being able to be there, that's the critical issue in any situation. It's timeliness and being able to deliver the kind of assistance, whether its logistics, rescue at that point in time, at that critical moment."

(Also in this ST report, subscription required)

On the environment front, the coastline of Sumatra has changed once again. From this ST report (subscription required):

JAKARTA - THREE months after Sumatra edged slightly towards Sri Lanka, the latest quake to hit the region has again altered the landscape. Anecdotal evidence from Nias and Simeulue, close to the epicentre of Monday's 8.7-magnitude quake, points to substantial change on shorelines around the islands.

In some areas, the land has tilted, exposing large tracts of beach that were once below the water line and thrusting coral reefs up into the air, while dipping other low-lying coastal areas into the sea. Photos shot by Australian surf camp operator Brian Williams show a wide strip of white sand in Simeulue's Gusong Bay, which people say was not there before.

But there is much worse news. From this report:

AS if earthquake-ravaged Indonesia doesn't have enough to worry about, now scientists warn that a Sumatran super-volcano might blow its top at any time.

If it does, the blast will toss hundreds of thousands of cubic kilometres of rock and ash into the atmosphere, dwarfing the eruptions of Krakatoa, Mount St Helens, Pinatubo and any conventional volcanic explosion of the past tens of thousands of years.

"These super-volcanoes are potentially the greatest hazard on Earth, the only greater threat being an asteroid impact from space," said Ray Cas, a vulcanologist with Monash University in Melbourne.

Professor Cas said a "major tectonic event" could be enough to trigger a deadly super-volcanic eruption.

The likelihood that the Toba – the largest super-volcano on Earth – will erupt has increased significantly due to geological stresses generated by the recent quakes.

Worse, Toba sits directly atop the faultline running down the spine of Sumatra. That is where seismologists say a third quake might strike.

Because of the increased risk, Professor Cas called for increased monitoring of Toba.