Aid groups rush to assess after Indonesia quake

By Peter Apps

LONDON (Reuters) - Aid agencies have pledged cash and rushed teams to assess damage and help the injured after a major earthquake and a series of powerful aftershocks shook Indonesia's Sumatra island.

They said they were impressed with the speed of the evacuation from coastal areas as tsunami warnings were repeatedly issued and lifted for Indian Ocean countries after the magnitude 8.4 quake and subsequent tremors.

Damage was not as bad as initially feared.

"Our initial assessment is that the government will be able to cope," said U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs from Geneva. "But our team is still on standby and will go if needed."

Aid workers said initial surveys had been largely limited to the town of Bengkulu, where some buildings had collapsed. There was little news from rural areas.

"It seems in the town there is a good response organized by the Indonesian government in terms of primary health services, tents and shelter," Oxfam's Sebastien Fesneau told Reuters from Jakarta.

"But we have less information on coastal areas. There are some areas that have apparently been more damaged than others."

Officials said at least 10 people had died. Some aid staff said the toll could be rise as people were still trapped under rubble.

Red Cross volunteers set up temporary medical centers, but the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said Indonesia's own Red Cross society seemed able to cope and there was no need for an international response.

TSUNAMI LESSONS

U.S. agency Catholic Relief Services said it had committed $50,000 to its earthquake response, while other groups including World Vision and International Medical Corps said they were also sending assessment teams to the area.

Australia pledged A$50,000 (US$42,000) in emergency aid on Thursday through the Indonesian Red Cross.

CARE International said its greatest worry was disease.

"After an earthquake of the size, the electricity and water systems are the first infrastructure to be broken because of the severe shaking," CARE International emergency team leader Adjie Fachurrazi said in a statement on the Reuters AlertNet Web site (www.AlertNet.org).

"If people don't have access to clean water, the first danger is outbreak of waterborne disease."