By AFP
JAKARTA: At least 44 people have been killed in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island Java on Monday, a local spokesperson said.
“There have been dozens of people killed. Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged. So far, 44 people have died,” Adam, spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said.
The quake had a magnitude of 5.4 and struck near towns south of Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey.
At least 300 were injured in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, a local official from the town worst hit by the tremor told local media.
“Most of the injured had fractures from being trapped by the ruins of buildings,” the head of Cianjur’s administration, Herman Suherman, told broadcaster Metro TV.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency had earlier said the quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and struck near Cianjur, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Jakarta.
There were no reports of casualties or major damage in the capital, where people rushed out of buildings.
Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building as the quake struck.
“I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly. I tried to do nothing to process what it was but it became even stronger and lasted for some time,” she said.
“I feel a bit dizzy now and my legs are also a bit cramped because I had to walk downstairs from the 14th floor.”
AFP journalists working in their office tower in Jakarta were also ordered to evacuate the building.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.
JAKARTA: At least 44 people have been killed in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island Java on Monday, a local spokesperson said.
“There have been dozens of people killed. Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged. So far, 44 people have died,” Adam, spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said.
The quake had a magnitude of 5.4 and struck near towns south of Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey.
At least 300 were injured in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, a local official from the town worst hit by the tremor told local media.
“Most of the injured had fractures from being trapped by the ruins of buildings,” the head of Cianjur’s administration, Herman Suherman, told broadcaster Metro TV.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency had earlier said the quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and struck near Cianjur, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Jakarta.
There were no reports of casualties or major damage in the capital, where people rushed out of buildings.
Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building as the quake struck.
“I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly. I tried to do nothing to process what it was but it became even stronger and lasted for some time,” she said.
“I feel a bit dizzy now and my legs are also a bit cramped because I had to walk downstairs from the 14th floor.”
AFP journalists working in their office tower in Jakarta were also ordered to evacuate the building.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.
