Major Earthquake, No Tsunami

Quake kills at least 1000 in Indonesia

Vice president says up to 2,000 could be dead

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Posted: 12:00 AM EST (0500 GMT)

(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia late Monday, killing hundreds, but fears of another tsunami like those that devastated the region in late December have faded.

On Indonesia's Nias Island at least 300 people died and hundreds more were reported injured or trapped, said government spokesman Agus Mendrova.

But international news agencies are reporting that between 1,000 and 2,000 people may have been killed on Nias Island.

"It is predicted -- and it's still a rough estimate -- that the number of the victims of dead may be between 1,000 and 2,000," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the el-Shinta radio station, according to The Associated Press.

At this hour, the death toll is near 1,000

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is moving into "battle mode" following Monday's magnitude 8.7 earthquake in southern Asia, alerting U.S. posts in the region and contacting aid workers, a State Department spokesman said.

"We're applying what we've learned from the previous earthquake, so that we can be prepared to be responsive quickly and in a meaningful way," said spokesman Adam Ereli.

He said U.S. officials are "in battle mode to be in a position where we can act."
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As usual, the U.S., the Great Satan, is poised to come to the aid of the victims of another natural disaster.

We're hated; yet we help.

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson