For more on Asia-Pacific disasters, click [ID:nSP24809]

For main story, click [nJAK485090]

By Sunanda Creagh

PADANG, Indonesia, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Reconstruction work in the earthquake-shattered Indonesian city of Padang must be up to scratch and building permits need to be handed out much more selectively, the mayor of the city told Reuters on Monday.

In Padang, a city of 900,000 people which bore the brunt Wednesday's deadly 7.6 magnitude quake, thousands of buildings collapsed trapping people under piles of masonry. Thousands of people may have been killed.

Many public buildings were completely destroyed, raising questions about construction standards in a quake-prone area and government supervision.

"Of the collapsed buildings that need rebuilding, the construction must be up to standard," said Mayor Fauzi Bahar. "We have to have good foundations, good quality iron and steel.

"We cannot let even one be built below standard. We must be more selective with our building permits."

Padang lies on one of the most active faultlines in the world, but a geologist said the city had been ill-prepared and remained at risk of being wiped out in the next decade by a more powerful earthquake. [ID:nSP498004]

"I think Padang is totally unprepared. Generally, the existing structures are not designed to be quake-proof and that's why the devastation is so great," said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja from the Indonesian Science Institute.

Mayor Fauzi said that the city needed to focus on a quick recovery to get back on its feet.

"First, we have to get children back to school. People have to go back to their offices," he said.

The mayor said that markets had reopened on Saturday, so people could get basics like fish, vegetables and their daily needs.

"Next, my focus will be on reconstruction. Homes, offices, schools, so people can get back to it."

He said that a new system was needed to ensure that building was properly carried out.

According to data from Indonesia's disaster agency, about 180,000 homes and 20,000 buildings in West Sumatra had been damaged in the quake.

Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari has estimated the death toll in the province could reach 3,000, although another disaster official said it is unlikely to go much higher than 1,000.

West Sumatra's governor told reporters he would issue a new law to ensure all buildings in the province were built to withstand a magnitude 8 quake.

"If the government fails to enforce it, the government can be sued," governor Gamawan Fauzi said. "That's my guarantee."

(Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by