Earthquake in Indonesia: it hit the most populous province and there are over 50 dead

At least 55 people have died and hundreds have been injured after a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck on Monday. West Java Provincethe most populous of Indonesia with almost 50 million inhabitants, authorities said.

As confirmed by the government spokesman of Cianjur, the town of West Java where the epicenter of the earthquake occurred, four people died at the Cimacan hospital and 51 at the Sayang hospital in that locality.

However, the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB, in Indonesian), confirms, for the moment, a total of 17 dead and 19 seriously injured by the earthquake, the magnitude of which has been updated by the United States Geological Survey compared to the 5.4 initially reported for the 5.6.

Speaking to local media, Cianjur Administrative Director Herman Suherman said the tremors had disappeared. 700 wounded.

“The victims continue to arrive from many areas. About 700 people were injured,” Suherman told Kompas TV.

Gated access and power outages

He added that, due to the damage caused by the earthquake, many roads and highways in the region are closed and some power distribution stations were affected, causing power outages in various locations.

After the initial quake, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded 25 aftershocks in just two hours.

In the videos released by local authorities, it is possible to see dozens of people, some unconscious, receiving medical treatment and being taken by ambulance to health centers in the region.

Likewise, the images show several damaged properties and structures, while some houses have been completely destroyed by the shock, felt in the capital, Jakarta, located about 75 kilometers from the epicenter.

The impact of the earthquake caused serious damage to at least 343 homes and an Islamic boarding school, while the Cianjur hospital suffered moderate damage.

Significant damage was also recorded to at least four government buildings, three schools, a church and several local businesses, according to the latest official toll.

The Pacific ring of fire

Indonesia sits down the so-called Pacific ring of firean area of ​​great seismic and volcanic activity where every year some 7,000 earthquakesmost of them moderate.

One of the deadliest disasters in the country occurred in 2004, when a strong earthquake in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated a tsunami that caused more than 226,000 deaths in a dozen countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

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