About 5:00 pm on September 30th, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck just offshore of the town of Padang in Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake toppled buildings and started many landslides, smashing homes and swallowing up entire villages. The following day, As rescue workers arrived and residents tried their best to dig out and help the survivors, another unrelated quake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck less than 1,000 km south of the original epicenter. Each of the two quakes had at least one aftershock greater than 5.0 as well. Over 1,000 people are known to have died, an additional 3,000 still missing. Today, October 5th, officials called off the search for survivors in Padang, and are focusing now on caring for the living and coordinating with international relief agencies.

2009 sumatra earthquakes

A survivor squats on top of the ruins of a village hit by a landslide which occured when an earthquake hit the area of Kapalo Koto in Pariaman, West Sumatra province October 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh)

2009 sumatra earthquakes

An injured girl cries during an evacuation immediately after an earthquake hit Padang, Indonesia’s Sumatra island September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Muhammad Fitrah/Singgalang Newspaper)

A man runs near a burning houses after a powerful earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.

Rescue workers from UAE meet before carrying out activities as dusk settles on the Ambacang Hotel on Saturday Oct. 3, 2009 in Padang, Indonesia.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A man carrying ducks evacuates his house, damaged by an earthquake, in Padang Pariaman, a coastal town in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, October 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Crack Palinggi)