At least 46 dead and 700 injured after an earthquake on the island of Java

by time news

At least 46 people died from the tremors. An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 was felt on Monday on the Indonesian island of Java, shaking skyscrapers as far as the capital Jakarta.

Relief took care of 700 injured people, according to local authorities, who evoke a continuous influx of victims. “Most have broken bones after getting stuck in the rubble of buildings,” said the Cianjur city administration spokesman.

Earlier, authorities reported rescuing a woman and a baby trapped in a landslide in Cianjur. The epicenter was located near this city some 100 kilometers south of Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Panic in the capital Jakarta, but no casualties

No casualties or major damage in Jakarta were reported immediately. But in the capital, people rushed out of buildings.

Indonesia is regularly confronted with earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, due to its position on the Pacific “ring of fire” where the tectonic plates meet.

In 2018, the island of Lombok and the neighboring island of Sumbawa were hit by a violent earthquake which killed more than 550 people.

The island of Java had, for its part, been affected by an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 in 2006, near the city of Yogyakarta, causing around 6,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries. But the country remains marked by the earthquake of December 26, 2004 with a magnitude of 9.1 off the coast of Sumatra.

It caused a major tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including 170,000 in Indonesia, one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.

You may also like

Leave a Comment