Red Cross: Indonesia quake toll above 3,000

The Red Cross has estimated the toll from Indonesia's tremor to top 3,000 despite a previous 704 deaths confirmed by Indonesian disaster management officials.

A 7.6-magnitude quake struck off the coast of western Sumatra last Wednesday, triggering massive landslides that swallowed villages north of Padang, burying hundreds of people under tonnes of rubble.

Bob McKerrow, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Indonesia, said between 170,000 to 200,000 homes were damaged -- half of them completely destroyed.

He said up to a million people had been directly affected by damage to their home, citing an estimate of five people per household.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Indonesia El-Mostafa Benlamlih said most foreign rescue teams were leaving the country amid fading hopes to find more survivors under the debris seven days after the quake.

Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar, however, said the city was showing signs of recovery from the trauma as most markets and all schools have reopened and people have gone back to work.

The UN children's agency UNICEF also said about 40 percent of the city's students, numbering to almost 70,000, were back in class on Tuesday.