Sign InRegister

Indonesia quake kills more than 3,000

Hospitals overwhelmed; power outages hinder rescuers

A woman soothes her sister, who is being treated at a Bantul hospital.

WATCH

Browse/Search

The death toll is rising after a quake in Indonesia (2:12)

Hundreds swamp hospitals for treatment (:40)

Yogyakarta runway cracks, canceling flights (1:55)

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- More than 3,000 people have died in a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck central Java in Indonesia early Saturday, and casualty figures are expected to rise.

The tasks of finding the dead and injured, and removing rubble from collapsed buildings are being complicated by electric power outages in the area and a shortage of earth-moving equipment and generators.

"We are in dire need of assistance and relief," particularly antibiotics and medical staff, Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya told CNN.

Most of the dead are being found in Bantul, a district near the Java coast just south of the historic tourist destination of Yogyakarta, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Jakarta. (See where the quake hit)

The National Disaster Coordinating Agency said that there were more than 2,000 deaths and nearly 1,900 people injured in Bantul alone. Yogyakarta and other communities also reported deaths. (Full story)

"My daughter here was buried under the rubble. We got her out, but we could not save my other daughter. ... It was just horrible," Reuters quoted Karjiman, a Bantul farmer, as saying. His wife was also injured, Reuters reported. (Watch traumatized survivors comprehend what's happening -- 2:12)

"Currently there are probably up to 150,000 people displaced from their homes," Brook Weisman-Ross, disaster coordinator for Plan International, told CNN from Yogyakarta. Fears of a possible tsunami and aftershocks sent people racing for higher ground and sleeping outdoors. (Watch cars crushed by concrete -- 3:13 )

"It's pitch dark. We have to use candles and we are sitting outside now," Tjut Nariman told Reuters on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. "We are too scared to sleep inside. The radio keeps saying there will be more quakes. We still feel the tremors."

"Oh my god, where is the doctor, where is the doctor?" an elderly man with a bruised face was heard crying in the street, according to Reuters.

"Patients are still in the streets," said Malcolm Johnston, a representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Bantul. "Anywhere you can hang a drip, they're hanging a drip."

The injured are being treated in the streets because hospitals are overwhelmed and because of fears of buildings collapsing amid another earthquake, said Puji Pujiono of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (Watch hospitals struggle to cope with a mass influx of patients -- 0:40)

Relief on the way

UNICEF already has deployed staff to Yogyakarta and said it has prepared emergency supplies that include: 9,000 tarpaulins, 850 hygiene kits, 1,165 small tents, 753 large tents, 4,000 lanterns, 160 collapsible water tanks, 1,707 school kits, 50 school tents, 152 recreation kits, and 90 school-in-a-box school supplies.

The American Red Cross, which has had more than 20 workers in the country since the 2004 tsunami, has donated $100,000 and is planning a flyover to assess the devastation Sunday, said spokeswoman Carol Miller.

A planeload of relief supplies also is on the way with more than 5,000 pounds of medical supplies and two portable water treatment facilities, she said.

The Indonesian Red Cross, with a staff of 400 people, responded with two medical action teams, disaster and youth volunteers, field kitchens, ambulances, tents and one health post, said Miller.

Relief flights were diverted from Yogyakarta airport, which was closed because of damage to the runway and terminal, to the nearby city of Solo.

"The challenge is to make sure there is no mismatch between what is needed and what is being offered," said Dr. Marty Natalegawa, the Indonesian ambassador to the United Kingdom. "The next few hours will be critical" to save lives.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged people to work round the clock, as he visited the region Saturday afternoon.

The earthquake is the worst disaster since the December 26, 2004 magnitude-9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami, killing at least 131,029 people in Indonesia alone. Another earthquake on March 28, 2005 killed about 900 people off the western coast of Sumatra.

Indonesia sits on the Asia-Pacific's "ring of fire," which is marked by heavy volcanic and tectonic activity.

CNN's Kathy Quiano contributed to this report.