Pariaman, West Sumatra – The magnitude 7.9 earthquake and subsequent landslides that devastated West Sumatra on Sept. 30 inflicted estimated losses of Rp 21.58 trillion ($2.3 billion), an official said on Saturday.

West Sumatra Deputy Governor Marlis Rahman said damage to houses accounted for 74 percent of total losses. He said the figure was based on the results of a final verification which put the number of damaged houses at 249,833, including 114,797 houses that were leveled.

Marlis also said Padang Pariaman was the hardest hit district, with material losses estimated to reach Rp 8.67 trillion.

Meanwhile, Padang Pariaman district head Muslim Kasim said a total of 59,693 houses were destroyed in the district with an estimated total loss of more than Rp 7.8 trillion.

The quake killed at least 1,195 people and injured thousands of others in West Sumatra.

Yandri Hidayat, head of Padang Pariaman Culture and Tourism Office, said that of the 34 heritage locations in the district, at least 27 were heavily damaged.

He said most of the ruined buildings were mosques and prayer halls that were more than 100 years old. They included the old mosque of Syekh Burhanuddin in Ulakan Tapakis subdistrict which was built in 1690.

Syekh Burhanuddin, who was responsible for the construction of the mosque, was a charismatic Minangkabau ulema who brought Islam from Aceh to West Sumatra in the 16th century. His grave is located near the mosque and is visited by thousands of pilgrims from across the archipelago every year.

Yandri said the earthquake had damaged parts of the ancient building and its domes had crashed to the ground. The praying room itself was intact and could still be used.

He said most of the damage to the 27 cultural heritage buildings was suffered by the supporting infrastructure, including surrounding roads and entrance gates.

A number of nongovernmental organizations, including Malaysia's Selangor Humanitarian Mission Organization (Pantas), assisted in repairing damaged sites, especially praying halls. Pantas rebuilt two ancient praying halls in Parit Malintang and Pasa Dama. The organization also donated building materials while dozens of its volunteers worked alongside local people during the reconstruction process, said its coordinator Noer Azwar Haji Ramli.

The reconstruction of the two praying halls is near completion, and Muslims in the two areas could soon use the facilities for praying and other Islamic activities, he said.