Injured residents receive treatment in a makeshift hospital in Solok, in West Sumatra province yesterday. A strong earthquake and a powerful aftershock hit Indonesia's Sumatra island yesterday, killing at least 70 people, and trapping scores more under flattened buildings. - REuters

PADANG, Indonesia (Reuters):

A strong earthquake and a powerful aftershock hit Indonesia's Sumatra island yesterday, killing about 70 people and forcing hundreds to camp out in tents or open fields after their homes were flattened.

As night fell, authorities said dozens were feared still trapped under the rubble in West Sumatra province.

Tremors from the initial 6.3 magnitude earthquake were felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, where several buildings were evacuated.

Hospitals in some areas were overwhelmed with dozens of injured. Many people fled their homes and fears of aftershocks pushed authorities in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital, to set up emergency tents at a soccer field.

Collapsing building

"I thought it was a big vehicle passing through in front of the house," Misbadi, a 50-year-old Solok resident who broke his right arm, told Reuters. "I ran out of the house, but I was hit by a collapsing building."

Television footage showed staff from a hospital rushing out in panic while others wept in fear as tremors shook a building.

The provincial coordinating unit for disaster management said 69 people were killed and Solok district was the worst hit with 19 deaths. Yohannes Dahlan, secretary of the West Sumatra Government, said around200 people had been injured.

The government sent in the military to assist with rescue efforts. The Red Cross also deployed a rapid response team to assess the damage and needs of victims.

The quakes affected power supply to the area, forcing rescue teams to temporarily halt search efforts.

"I cannot predict how many people are still trapped because the process is still on. However, there are many houses collapsed, and I believe that the inhabitants are in them," Solok town mayor Syamsu Rahim told Reuters.

He said about 500 people had been displaced and the local government had set up emergency tents for survivors.

MILITARY EVACUATION

Some residents in three badly hit areas of West Sumatra ? Solok, Tanah Datar and Padang Panjang ? erected tents outside their homes, moved in with relatives or prepared to spend the night in schools and mosques.