BANTUL, Indonesia — At least 3,700 people were killed and thousands more were injured Saturday in a powerful earthquake that struck densely populated central Java island and reduced thousands of homes to rubble.
When the earth began trembling at dawn, panicked Indonesians scrambled from their beds like they were "being chased by thunder."
The magnitude 6.3 quake flattened buildings, damaged bridges and roads and knocked out electricity for miles around. Rescuers searched for survivors and hospitals overflowed with the injured. The death toll was expected to rise.
Even though the stricken area is more than 10 miles from the sea, the quake caused widespread panic among residents who feared the region would be hit by a tsunami like the one that struck the northern province of Aceh in 2004, killing more than 200,000 people.
Thousands of people slept in rice fields and along roads Saturday night, some because their homes had been destroyed, others for fear of another quake. Aid officials said they were trying to rush tents, tarps and other supplies to as many as 200,000 survivors. Officials said at least 3,800 buildings were destroyed.
Bantul, near the epicenter, was the hardest-hit town, with at least 2,093 people killed.
Piles of debris blocked streets in the worst-hit neighborhoods. Power blackouts forced searchers to abandon their efforts for the night.
Kasinem, 60, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said she rushed from her house in Bantul when the shaking began.
"It was very hard for me to get out because I couldn't walk straight," she said. "When I got to my front yard, the walls of my house collapsed. I didn't bring anything. I have only the clothes I'm wearing. But thank God my daughter and I are safe."
In the ancient city of Yogyakarta just north of Bantul, more than 100 people died and the airport was closed because of damage to the runway, hampering the delivery of aid. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the greatest need was for antibiotics and other medicine.
Rescue officials put the death toll at more than 3,700.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived Saturday afternoon with a group of Cabinet ministers to oversee the relief operation.
He ordered the army to help evacuate survivors and assured residents that there would be no tsunami.
