Matthew 24:7 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”
Intense rescue operations are still underway after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake caused massive devastation to Indonesia’s Aceh province. Officials say that quake shook the ground for at least 15 seconds in some of the worst hit areas.
Officials say the death toll is 24 and very likely to rise with more than 200 confirmed injured in the quake. In addition to damage from the quake that included flattening houses, landslides buried other homes.
Scattered reports say that at least six children are among the dead. A mosque collapsed during a gathering and 14 people were trapped under the building’s debris.
Soldiers and police are heavily involved in the rescue operations but have been hampered by landslides that have blocked roads to remote regions. Aftershocks have been so intense that residents have been sleeping outside on the ground rather than risk another building collapse.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.