Death toll in Indonesian earthquakes mounts; homes damaged in Spanish tremors
JAKARTA: At least 53 people were killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, and dozens of aftershocks struck off eastern Indonesia on Saturday according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Rescue teams were still unable to reach Nagekeo, the area closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, because landslides had blocked roads and disrupted communications, officials said.
A resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara, described the earthquake’s strength. Nona, 51, said, “The quake was massive, the shock was so strong.” She added that 13 people were inside the house when the earthquake struck and that everyone ran outside to escape.
Tsunami waves measuring less than one meter (three feet) were recorded in several parts of Indonesia following the early-morning earthquake. Authorities lifted the tsunami warning about three hours after issuing it.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake also struck Indonesia’s North Sumatra province the same day, according to the country’s meteorology agency BMKG. The agency said there was no tsunami threat and no immediate reports of aftershocks or damage. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 168 kilometers (104.39 miles), with its epicenter on land about 11 kilometers southeast of Simalungun, BMKG said in a statement.
Earlier, rescuers in the port town of Maumere found 20 bodies, while six people were injured and two others remained trapped under rubble, according to Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia.
BNPB chief Suharyanto said earlier that people were still trapped inside several buildings across the affected areas. Officials also received reports that landslides had blocked several roads, making rescue and relief operations more difficult.
Fathur told Reuters earlier that rescue teams had not yet been able to reach Nagekeo and that mobile phone communications in the area had been affected. One team tried to travel to the region by road but was stopped by landslides, while another team attempted to reach the area by ferry.
Around 2,000 residents of Nagekeo were evacuated, while damage was reported to homes, warehouses and government buildings, BNPB said. Authorities also reported power cuts and heavy traffic in parts of the regency.
Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, the governor of East Nusa Tenggara Province, said at a press conference that at least five people had died after buildings and other structures collapsed while they were sleeping.
However, the BNPB gave a different early death toll, reporting one person killed and four injured. The agency said it was continuing to collect and verify information from affected areas.
Video footage from a port in Maumere, which was posted on Facebook and verified by Reuters, showed parts of a building collapsing into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran into the streets.
The strong shaking was felt across East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara, as well as in parts of South Sulawesi, according to the BNPB. People in several locations reported that the shaking lasted for around one minute.
Quake in Southern Spain
Thousands of kilometers away, another earthquake struck southern Spain in the early hours of August 15. The magnitude 5 tremor struck the metropolitan area of Alhendin, near Granada, shortly after 1 am, where the regional government said several houses and cars were damaged. No injuries had been reported there.
Spanish television channel TVE showed rubble and other debris scattered across streets in the popular tourist city. The footage also showed damage to some cars. Andalusian emergency workers rescued several people from buildings damaged by the earthquake.
Source – Indonesia News
