
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 17, 1994                   TAG: 9402170106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JAKARTA, INDONESIA                                LENGTH: Short

134 KILLED BY EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 7.2 ON SUMATRA

Residents were buried in their sleep and homes, mosques and roads were destroyed by a powerful earthquake that hit the island of Sumatra just after midnight Wednesday.

At least 134 people were killed, but the toll likely will rise because of difficulties in evacuating badly hurt victims, officials said.

About 550 people were seriously injured, government spokesman Hotman Apik said.

"Most of the victims were sound asleep," Apik said. "Some of the victims died without knowing what hit them."

The U.S. Geological Survey in Washington said the quake hit 7.2 on the Richter scale.

The hardest-hit area was believed to be the province of Lampung, on southeastern Sumatra, 125 miles northwest of Jakarta.

Destruction from the quake and heavy rain has made it difficult to contact Lampung. Roads were churned up and phone lines shredded by the force of the quake.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB