The Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia has assured on Thursday that no Filipino had been affected in the strong earthquake that jolted Sumatra island in Indonesia Wednesday.

“There was no Filipino who had been hurt or killed in the earthquake and we are very thankful to God,” Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Vidal Querol said in Filipino during a radio interview over DZBB on Thursday.

Querol said there are about 50 Filipinos residing in Indonesia’ Aceh province while about 1,000 Filipinos live in Sumatra island.

Currently, Querol said the Indonesian government is already assessing the damages, adding that there is a need to bring in more heavy equipment as an estimated 500 houses and buildings had been destroyed.

He also disclosed that some people have opted to evacuate their houses for fear of earthquake aftershocks.

The death toll from the quake is expected to reach about 100, said Querol.

Querol meanwhile said that despite the major earthquake, Filipinos in Indonesia are still pooling their resources to help Filipinos affected by tropical storm “Ondoy” here.

He said the Filipino community in Indonesia will be meeting today to sum up the funds collected for the typhoon victims in dollars and rupiah, which will be wired to the Philippines.

“Next week, magpapadala na tayo [We will be able to send the money by next week],” he said.

Querol also said Indonesia has lauded the bayanihan spirit of the Filipinos following the onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy.”