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DISASTER ALERT!!!

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Rescuers brave aftershocks to dig up survivors

Rescuers worked through powerful aftershocks to pull earthquake survivors from the rubble on Indonesia's Nias island, as efforts to bring vital aid were beset by bad weather and logistical foul-ups.

More than 700 tremors have struck the remote island off the coast of Sumatra since Monday's massive 8.7-magnitude quake killed hundreds of people and spread panic in Indian Ocean nations fearing a repeat of last year's tsunami.

The largest tremor was recorded at 6.3 on the Richter scale, on the same fault line that generated both Monday's quake and the December 26 magnitude-9.3 disaster -- and which seismologists warn may unleash another killer shockwave.

UN agencies said Thursday that more than 620 people had been confirmed dead, 600 of them on Nias. "We do anticipate that figure is still going to go up," UN Development Programme spokeswoman Imogen Wall told AFP.

The Indonesian government, meanwhile, revised its estimated toll down to 400 to 500 dead or missing from the figure of 2,000 given Wednesday by Vice President Yusuf Kalla.

Bad weather delays vital aid

As water supplies began to run low on the worst-affected island of Nias, efforts to bring in aid were hit by low cloud and heavy rain, forcing aid aircraft and ships to turn back, Wall said.

Technical snafus also struck as heavy-duty excavation gear on board the Indonesian navy vessels, which could be used to save people still clinging to life beneath the ruins, was not brought ashore as there was nowhere to dock.

Other logistical problems, including runway damage that has closed Nias island's airport to larger planes, have held up supplies and equipment to dig survivors out of collapsed buildings.

In the northwestern Nias town of Lahewa, there were reports of food and medicine shortages among hundreds of people sheltering in hillside camps having fled their homes.

"Tonight, we may have no food to eat, I have asked people to look for bananas, there may be some. But for tomorrow, we will have nothing to eat," said Catholic priest Alfons Pandiangan.

President Yudhoyono visits Nias

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also visited Nias Thursday, ignoring constant rain to hug survivors and join prayers for the dead outside Saint Mary's Catholic church in Gunung Sitoli.

"We are here to help, we will repair everything, have patience," he told parishioners gathered at the church. Along with mosques and Buddhist temples in the mixed-faith city, it has been used as a makeshift morgue.

Hundreds of people were being treated in a makeshift hospital on a football pitch in the center of Gunung Sitoli, but aid workers on the island said more help was needed.

Australia said it was flying in additional military medics and supplies after receiving initial reports from an advance team on Nias, while a 1,000-bed US military hospital ship was expected to arrive within six days.

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5.8-magnitude aftershock strikes near site of Indonesia's powerful quake

Hong Kong seismologists reported today a 5.8-magnitude aftershock that hit off Indonesia's coast, the latest in a series that have followed a massive earthquake that struck the region earlier this week.

The tremor was recorded in Hong Kong at 0729 GMT and was centered about 260 kilometers southwest of Medan city in western Sumatra island, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

The aftershock caused no panic on hard-hit Nias island, which has been shaken numerous times since Monday night's devastating magnitude-8.7 quake. The death toll from the Monday quake was estimated at 400 to 500 people.

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UN confirms more than 620 dead in quake

More than 620 people have been confirmed dead after a massive earthquake in northwestern Indonesia this week, UN agencies said.

UN assessment teams had found that 600 people were killed on the island of Nias, 15 people on neighboring Simeulue and nine in an area that includes part of mainland Sumatra and the smaller Banyak islands, UNDP spokeswoman Imogen Wall said.

The dead on Nias comprised 500 people in the north of the island, including the main town of Gunung Sitoli, and 100 in the south, Wall said.

The figure was expected to rise as assessment teams traveled by motorbike to areas where Monday's quake had left roads impassable to four-wheeled vehicles, she said.

"We do anticipate that figure is still going to go up," Wall said.

Rescue teams were also continuing to scour the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the quake for bodies, she said.

"We are not going to have a final death toll for at least a few days as we don't know how many people are under those buildings," she said.

The Indonesian government, meanwhile, revised its estimated toll down.

Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah told reporters in Nias that the government estimated between 400 and 500 people were dead or missing.

"As of today in the town of Gunung Sitoli a total of 236 people have been buried and another 43 have also been laid to rest in the town of Teluk Dalam in southern Nias.

"We predict that a total of between 400 to 500 people have either died or are still missing," he said at a media briefing with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

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