Aftershocks, which continued to jolt West Sumatra following a 7.9-magnitude earthquake last September 12, 2007, increased the number of damaged houses to 35,812 mostly in South Pesisir and Padang Pariaman districts, ANTARA reported. Some 14,001 houses had been damaged in South Pesisir, 13,292 in Padang Periaman, 4,789 in Mentawai Island District, 3,314 in Padang city, 188 in Pariaman, 81 in Solok, 44 in Suth Solok, and 33 in Payakumbuh, according to data from the West Sumatra disaster mitigation office here on Tuesday. The powerful earthquake and aftershocks also damaged a total of 252 schools in West Sumatra province. The damaged schools were found in South Pasisir District (91 school buildings), Mentawai Island (91), Padang city (38), Padang Pariaman (26), Solok (1), Agam (1) and Payakumbuh (1). The number of office buildings which were damaged in the disaster reached 147, namely in Mentawai Island (63), South Pasisir (18), Payakumbuh (17), Solok (7), Padang Pariaman (3), Solok (1) and Pariaman (1). The earthquake and aftershocks also damaged a total of 208 places of worship and 297 public facility buildings. Since the 7.9-magnitude earthquake last September 12, West Sumatra has been shaken by a total of 101 aftershocks measuring between 4 and 7.7 on the Richter scale up to Tuesday morning.
