Quake Deaths at 120; Rain Slows Relief

Heavy rain and poor communications hampered rescue efforts on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where Sunday’s magnitude 7.9 temblor has killed 120 people and injured nearly 1,300. Officials said supplies had begun trickling into Bengkulu province on the southwest coast. Government spokesman Husni Hasanudin said about 20 Dutch and Belgian paramedics had arrived to provide assistance. Officials have said they expected the death toll, which hospital workers have put at about 120, to increase. Hasanudin said nearly 1,300 people had been injured. Heavy rain forced some victims to move back into damaged homes. The rains and poor communications have delayed efforts to reach remote Enggano island off Sumatra, near the epicenter.