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ARGAMAKMUR, Indonesia - Rescue workers in Indonesia rushed aid across Sumatra Friday after massive earthquakes killed 14 people there and shocks frightened thousands of survivors into camping outdoors.
Aftershocks continued to thunder across the region in the wake of the initial 8.4-magnitude quake Wednesday, including one that sparked another tsunami alert that spooked residents but was later called off.
The Indonesian military and local officials began distributing food and medical aid to survivors relatively unhampered, 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.
The military provided two Bell helicopters, one each to be based in the worst-hit cities of Bengkulu and Padang, he said.
"The helicopters will primarily be used to conduct surveys to assess the damage and what needs to be done... as well as to carry urgent relief aid or even medical teams if necessary," he said.
Supplies to the Mentawai island group off Sumatra's west coast, where about 150 houses were reported to have collapsed, were expected to arrive by ship on Saturday, the governor of West Sumatra province said.
Rustam Pakaya, who heads the health ministry's crisis centre, meanwhile said the death toll had risen by one to 14.
More than 70 medical personnel have been dispatched to affected areas, while a tonne of medicine and four tonnes of food along with other relief assistance had arrived in Bengkulu, 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.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said aerial monitoring by the air force showed the damage was "minimal" despite the massive size of the initial quake and the dozens of aftershocks.
"We should be grateful for that," he said.
About 2,000 buildings have been damaged or have collapsed in the disaster.
Ongoing tremors forced thousands of jittery survivors to camp outside overnight, some next to intact homes, where they said they would remain until the situation calmed.
"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.
In Lais village in North Bengkulu, a team of paramedics were setting up an open-air clinic to provide medical care and trauma counselling.
"This is just the medical service, the food assistance is to come shortly," said Syahrul, a doctor heading the team.
A truck carrying relief aid from a private charity arrived in nearby Penyangkat village and handed out instant noodles, tarpaulins and blankets.
"What is important is this tarpaulin," said 60-year-old villager Habibah.
"I do not dare to sleep at home because I fear another strong quake may hit." - AFP/ir
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