JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered quick rescue and relief efforts after eight people died in an earthquake that struck southern Java.
Three others were seriously injured in Saturday’s quake with a magnitude of -5.9 and more than 1,180 buildings were damaged, most of them slightly, the BNPB disaster agency said. Some houses were flattened, images from the Indonesian press showed.
Two shelters for displaced people have been set up in Lumajang city.
All the casualties were reported in 15 districts and cities in East Java, the province closest to the epicenter of the quake, which occurred in the Indian Ocean.
“We have ordered … an immediate emergency response to search and find victims under the rubble and to treat the wounded,” the president, known by his popular name Jokowi, said in remarks.
There were no reports of the quake that would disrupt the production facilities, but the BNPB said 150 public facilities were damaged. Most of the industrial areas in East Java are located in the northern part of the island.
Jokowi noted that as Indonesia is on the volcanic “ring of fire” in the Pacific, natural disasters, such as earthquakes, could occur at any time, adding that Indonesians should always be prepared.
The Southeast Asian nation was hit last week by Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which triggered landslides and flash floods, killing more than 170 people on islands in the eastern Nusa Tenggara province.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi in January, killing more than 100 people.
Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Written by Gayatri Suroyo; Mountainous of William Mallard