W. Sumatra earthquake damages 65 cultural heritage sites

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 11/08/2009 7:22 PM

As many as 65 cultural heritage sites in West Sumatra suffered damage after the 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook the province late September.

Head of cultural heritage conservation for West Sumatra, Riau and Riau Island, Fitra Alda, said the damaged buildings were more than a hundred years old and marked the history of Padang.

“The buildings include Chinese temples, such as Hin Kong, Ganting Mosque and Agnes elementary school,” Fitra told tempointeraktif.com.

Ganting Mosque was built in 1815 and is the oldest mosque in Padang, while Agnes elementary school is the first Catholic school in the city and was established in 1900.

She added that her office had coordinated with UNESCO to reconstruct the heritage sites and with airport authorities to tighten security to prevent the potential smuggling of any heritage material. (ewd)