The death toll from the earthquake that rocked Indonesia this week will likely double as rescue workers locate the bodies of hundreds of people who were buried under landslides, officials said Saturday.
The quake-triggered landslides wiped out at least four villages and buried more than 600 people under mud and debris across the western coast of the island of Sumatra, authorities said.
Among the buried were 400 guests at a wedding in the village of Pulau Aiya.
Aid and government workers have finally reached the region's remote villages, three days after Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Hundreds of health care workers and search-and-rescue teams arrived at the regional airport with food, tents, medicine, clean water, generators and a field hospital.
But the workers face power and fuel shortages and disruptions to telecommunications services.
The death toll so far sits at 715, with most of the casualties reported in the area's largest city, Padang. However, that number will nearly double if those who were buried are not recovered alive.
The death toll could also climb into the thousands, as more than 3,000 people are still reported missing.
According to the United Nations, 10,000 homes collapsed, 80 mosques and 19 public facilities were badly damaged, and 50 schools were destroyed.
Amelia Merrick of World Vision said search-and-rescue teams are still sifting through the rubble, looking for survivors.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are doing what they can to find shelter.
"People are finding their own way," Merrick told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel Saturday in a telephone interview from Indonesia. "There are people that are sleeping on the front porch or in front of their houses with tarps overhead. People were sleeping in cars last night and the night before."
According to Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre, the villages of Lubuk Lawe and Jumena, which are located in the Padang Pariaman district, were also destroyed.
About 244 people were buried in Lubuk Lawe and Jumena, he said. Only 26 bodies have been located.
In the fourth village, Limo Koto Timur, the tops of houses poked through mud, while others dangled over the edge of a crevice. Entire roads were destroyed and trees uprooted.
The UN's humanitarian co-ordinator for Indonesia, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, said that aid workers have so far met the immediate medical needs of quake victims.
However, residents in rural areas outside of Pandang are still in need of help.
Aid agencies are now focused on restoring public utilities, sanitation and disease prevention, he said.
Meanwhile, rescue crews were unable to locate a missing survivor buried under the rubble of a collapsed hotel in Padang after he sent a text message to relatives late Friday.
Rescue workers with sniffer dogs could not detect signs of life Saturday after several hours of searching.
"We did an extensive search this morning, but there were no signs of life," Hidehiro Murase, head of a Japanese search team, told The Associated Press.
"Our dogs are trained to smell for living people, not the dead, and they didn't sense anything."
While the UN says the Padang area has enough fuel stocks for about four days, the main road to the fuel depot has been cut off by landslides, which has sent fuel prices skyrocketing.
The agency said due to widespread infrastructure damage, there is dire need for supplies such as food and tents.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla estimated that recovery efforts will cost at least $400 million.
A number of countries have pledged millions of dollars in aid.
With files from The Associated Press
