Aid rushed to Indonesia quake survivors

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ARGAMAKMUR, (Indonesia), Sept 14 (AFP): Rescue workers in Indonesia rushed aid today to Sumatra's west coast after massive earthquakes killed 13 people there and scared thousands of survivors into sleeping outdoors.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesians should be grateful they were spared catastrophic damage following the major quakes, including the initial 8.4-magnitude temblor on Wednesday.
The Indonesian military and local officials began distributing food and medical aid to survivors without too many constraints, said an official from the national disaster mitigation agency.
"The local infrastructure has not been seriously damaged and we can still deliver aid by land," the official, Soetrisno, told AFP.
But he said the delivery of supplies to the Mentawai island group off Sumatra's west coast had been delayed, though helicopters were soon to be used to access them. Some 150 houses were reported to have collapsed on the islands.
More than 70 medical personnel have been dispatched from the capital Jakarta and South Sumatra to affected areas, said Rustam Pakaya, who heads the health ministry's crisis centre.
A tonne of medicine and four tonnes of food along with other relief assistance had arrived in Bengkulu, the main city in the quake-hit zone, he added.
A local government aid worker in the city, Firmansyah, said more tents, blankets and sarongs were needed but the main problem was a shortage of manpower to move the supplies.
"We have enough vehicles to take the aid, but we need more personnel to escort them to the region," he told AFP.
A UN disaster assessment team that travelled to Bengkulu on Thursday said a major international relief effort was not needed.
"The response measures taken by Indonesia were quite effective, and demonstrate how preparedness can go a long way towards meeting needs in the aftermath of a disaster," said senior UN official John Holmes.
Yudhoyono said aerial monitoring by the air force showed that the damage was "minimal" despite the massive size of the initial quake and the dozens of aftershocks.
"And we should be grateful for that," Yudhoyono said.
About 2,000 buildings have been damaged or have collapsed in the disaster.
Survivors have been spooked by repeated aftershocks that have resulted in tsunami alerts being issued along the coast. The latest alert was issued and lifted following a strongly-felt 6.9 quake that struck at 0601 GMT.
The ongoing tremors forced thousands of jittery survivors to camp outside overnight, some next to intact homes.
"I don't want to put my family at risk. We are afraid that a strong earthquake will strike again, while we are all sleeping inside the house," said Suprapto, from a tent in front of his undamaged home in Padang Jaya village.
Survivors in this area said they had not yet seen any aid, and their need for supplies was escalating.
Mulia, a mother of an eight-month-old baby and a toddler, said she urgently needed milk for her children and instant noodles.