Indonesia – Thousands of people are feared killed by a massive earthquake that flattened homes in Sumatra.
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Indonesia initially put the death toll at 75 but said many more were trapped under flattened buildings.
The 7.6-magnitude quake hit off the coast from the town of Padang.
Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry’s crisis centre, said thousands of people were trapped under collapsed buildings.
The quake triggered a landslide that cut off land transport to the area closest to the epicentre. Power and telecommunications were also cut.
The quake was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
A tsunami warning for countries along the Indian Ocean was issued, and panicked residents fled to higher ground fearing giant waves. The warning was lifted about an hour later.
Health minister Siti Fadilah Supari said a shopping mall and two hospitals had collapsed in Padang – a sprawling low-lying city in Western Sumatra province of around 900,000 that geologists have warned could be vulnerable to a massive quake or tsunami.
“This is a high-scale disaster, more powerful than the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006″ when more than 3,000 people died,” Ms Supari said, referring to a major city on the main island of Java.”
Some reports said the quake triggered landslides that cut all roads to Padang. Power and telecommunications were also cut. Fire also broke out in buildings on a road to the city.
i wish hashem would make a huge earthquake in that crazy nutty place called Iran, kill the mad man mentally ill mullahs. and blow up all the reactors. Amen!
Since Yom Kippur (1) a typhoon on the heels of a devastating flood struck the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam; (2) a powerful tsunami from a sub-ocean earthquake has brought disaster to the Samoan Islands; and now (3) a deadly earthquake has buried thousands in Indonesia.
As Yidden with Emunas Hashem we know that there are no coincidences in the occurrences of nature. The Navi’im and Chazal warned that just before the final geula the world would experience an unnatural increase in natural disasters. Combine this with a reminder of the dream — confirmed by Rav Shachne Zohn shlit”a, one of the last living talmidim of the Chofetz Chaim — in which the Chofetz Chaim said to him: “Geula krova lavo; l’farsem u’lehitkonen” (“the redemption is close; publicize and prepare yourself”), and…well…
we’re in for VERY INTERESTING times during which we must indeed prepare ourselves. May Klal Yisrael be protected by the Ribbono Shel Olam in the weeks and months ahead, with the hope that He is indeed, finally, bringing the longed yearned for geula speedily in our day.
Of course Nazi Germany never experienced a single earthquake. btw, I know of semi-frum Jews who live in Indonesia (from birth) and at least a few Geirim or Bnai Noach types that live there.
to #1 but there are still many a yid in iran so shshshshshshshshsh
While I appreciate everyone’s hopes that there is some meaning behind these storms… could it not just be that it is storm season? In 2004, 4 hurricanes hit Florida inside of roughly 5 weeks. People said the same thing. In 1998 over a 250,000 acres were on fire here in FL and people said the same things then.
While this is incredibly tragic, there is no evidence that this is a sign of anything other than the world is still turning the way it should. I’m sorry to burst a few bubbles.