Indonesia: the toll of the victims of the earthquake which affected the Cianjur region is increasing

In Cianjur, more than 2,000 homes were damaged during the earthquake, which killed at least 162 people.

via REUTERS - ANTARA FOTO

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In Indonesia, the toll of the earthquake that hit the Cianjur region yesterday increased considerably overnight with 162 dead and several hundred injured.

Among them are many children who failed to escape in time. 

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It has been barely 24 hours since the earth shook in Cianjur, and already people are starting to bury the dead, following Javanese customs which try to wait as little as possible to bury the dead.

On

Instagram

, the governor of the region pays a last tribute to the cemetery where is buried, among others, Alinda, a resident who did everything to the end to help coordinate first aid when she herself was injured. writes our regional correspondent

,

Gabrielle Maréchaux

. 

Searches are made more difficult by blocked roads and power cuts in this hilly rural area where houses are made of both wood and concrete.

More than 2,000 homes were damaged, says AFP.

Some 13,000 people have been taken to evacuation centers, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said, citing figures from the emergency management agency.

The danger could get worse

 If this earthquake was so destructive, explains the Indonesian meteorological and geophysical agency, it is less because of its magnitude, 5.6 on the Richter scale, than its location, just 10 kilometers deep. 

 This region of the island of Java just below a subduction zone between two tectonic plates also remains one of the most dangerous, penciled in the darkest shade of red on maps assessing Indonesia's disaster risk.

It remains, despite this, one of the most densely populated in the country.

And, after the 88 tremors yesterday, the danger could worsen, alerted the authorities, with increased risks of landslides in the event of heavy rains.

The Indonesian president must go to the site of the earthquake, Tuesday, November 22, according to the Metro TV channel. 

►Also read

: Indonesia: a magnitude 5.6 earthquake kills dozens

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