Indonesia: 5.6 magnitude earthquake kills dozens
Workers inspect a store damaged by an earthquake in Cianjur, Indonesia, November 21, 2022. © AP/Firman Taqur
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that occurred on November 21 on the Indonesian island of Java, the latest toll reported at least 46 dead and “
several hundred or even thousands of houses were damaged
”.
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At least 46 people have died and hundreds more have been injured in an earthquake, shaking skyscrapers as far away as the capital Jakarta.
“
There were dozens of people killed.
To date, 44 people have died
,” said a spokesman for the administration of the city of Cianjur (West Java).
"
According to the information I have at the moment, in this hospital alone, nearly 20 people have died and at least 300 are being treated
," Cianjur city administration chief Herman Suherman told the channel. Metro TV.
Most have broken bones after being stuck in the rubble of buildings
.
The epicenter was located near this city, some 100 kilometers south of Jakarta, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS).
Media showed several buildings in Cianjur whose roofs had collapsed.
“
We urge people to stay outside buildings for the time being as there could be possible aftershocks
,” Indonesian meteorological agency director Dwikorita Karnawati told reporters.
Buildings evacuated in Jakarta
No casualties or major damage in Jakarta itself was reported immediately.
But in the capital, people rushed out of buildings.
Hundreds of people waited outside after the quake, some wearing hard hats to protect themselves from falling debris.
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.
In the same year, another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 triggered a tsunami that hit Palu, on the island of Sulawesi, killing or missing 4,300 people.
► To read also: The January 2022 volcanic eruption in Tonga was the strongest on record
(
with
AFP
)
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