Aftershocks rattle Indonesia; earthquake toll rises to 102

Meureudu: Aftershocks rattled the survivors of a devastating Indonesian earthquake on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the earthquake that struck Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday has risen to 102, according to Indonesia's Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency.

The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake levelled hundreds of homes, mosques, and businesses across Aceh province, one of the areas worst affected by the devastating 2004 tsunami.

Rescue workers, soldiers, and police using advanced life-detecting devices combed through the rubble of a devastated town in Aceh province today, resuming a search for earthquake survivors that was halted at night by rain and blackouts.

"These scan through the rubble to see if anyone's alive or dead," national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told AFP.

The death toll stands at 102 but is expected to rise, he added. The figure has fluctuated as authorities identify the dead across the region.

The worst damage appears to be in Pidie Jaya district near the epicenter but assessments of the region are still underway.

Some people spent the night outdoors while thousands of others took refuge in mosques and temporary shelters.

Many were homeless after the magnitude 6.5 quake destroyed or damaged their homes and others were too scared to return home. Killer quakes occur regularly in the region, where many live with the terrifying memory of a giant December 26, 2004, earthquake that struck off Sumatra. The magnitude 9.1 quake triggered a devastating tsunami that killed more than 100,000 Acehnese.

Aceh's disaster mitigation agency said on Thursday the death toll had risen by 1 to 98 and more than 8,000 displaced people were at several shelters in Pidie Jaya. The Indonesian government has declared a two-week emergency period in Aceh and some aid was already reaching hard-hit areas.

The rescue effort involving thousands of search officials, villagers, soldiers and police is concentrated on Meureudu, a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya.

(With Agency inputs)