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IndonesiaJava has already been hit hard by last month’s new earthquake
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Java on Thursday, with no immediate damage, less than a month after an earthquake killed more than 300 people in the region.
Children walk past a collapsed house in Gukenang village in Siangjur, West Java, where an earthquake killed 334 people on November 21, 2022.
AFP
According to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS), the quake was felt at 7:50 a.m. local time (1:50 a.m. Swiss time), about 15 kilometers from the city of Cianjur, the epicenter of last month’s tremors that caused widespread damage. .
Thursday’s earthquake was detected at a depth of 123 kilometers, which limits the risks. The disaster management agency said there was no immediate damage in Cianjur or Sukhabumi, the epicenter of the new quake. But schools in Sugabhumi have been temporarily evacuated, local television reported.
“Since the epicenter of the earthquake was in Sugabhumi, it was felt lightly in Cianjur. There were no reports of damage to houses or casualties,” agency official Wawan Sedawan in Siangjur told AFP.
Epidemic threats
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Cianjur on November 21, killing at least 334 people, injuring thousands and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. Save the Children warned this week that evacuees, often housed in tents, are at risk of disease transmission and infections due to harsh living conditions, especially this rainy season. Thousands of respiratory infections and hundreds of cases of diarrhea have been reported.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo returned there on Thursday to deliver aid and meet with victims. It was the worst earthquake to hit Indonesia since 2018, when the Balu (Celebes Island) earthquake and tsunami killed more than 4,000 people.
Located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates meet, Indonesia regularly experiences earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
(AFP)
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