The United Nations was preparing emergency aid for quake-hit Sumatra island on Friday, with the UN food agency putting food supplies on standby for distribution once Indonesia makes a formal aid request. 'At the moment we haven't received the offical request from the government of Indonesia to assist but we are ready to assist and expect that that would come very shortly in an official manner,' said Emilia Casella, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme. The WFP has 3,000 tonnes of food including 1,000 tonnes of high energy biscuits in warehouses throughout Indonesia which could be used, the spokeswoman said. 'In addition, we're working together with logistics and rice supply agencies within Indonesia for further rice that would be able to be distributed in a three-month period,' she added. The WFP is already sending heavy lifting equipment from Bandar Aceh to Padang to help with excavation efforts. 'We are on the job and ready to begin our work as soon as we are called officially by the authorities to do so,' added Casella. Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also said it was putting together relief items for 50,000 families that should arrive in the quake zone 'in the next 24 hours.' These items include jerry cans, hygiene kits, school tents and water pumps. Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN humanitarian bureau, added that possible financial aid for Indonesia was 'still currently in discussions.' A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit western Sumatra Wednesday, leaving at least 1,100 people dead. On Friday, the government made a verbal appeal for foreign aid, particularly for help in evacuating victims trapped in the rubble. Also on Friday, the Red Cross said that some villages in the earthquake zone had been completely wiped out. 'From the aerial assessments carried out yesterday, the feedback is, yes Padang city and environs are bad, but once you go outside into the surrounding rural areas, the situation is very seriously grave,' said Christine South of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. 'There was talk of complete devastation of some villages, 100 percent devastation, and 50 percent in others, obviously huge damage to infrastructure,' South, the federation's operations coordinator for Indonesia, told journalists. Byrs also said that no information was available yet for some places which have been hit. 'We still don't have information on the Mentawai island where the impact of the earthquake was felt,' she said. Mentawai lies 57 kilometres (35 miles) from the coastal town of Pariaman in western Sumatra. Byrs also pointed out that some 15 villages in Jambi, south-east of Padang, were 'hit but we still have no precise information on the death toll.' 