Voice of America
22 Nov 2022, 05:06 GMT+10
A strong, shallow earthquake struck Indonesia's main island of Java Monday, killing at least 162 people and injuring hundreds.
The head of the country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the earthquake damaged and toppled dozens of buildings. West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said that more 13,000 people whose homes had been heavily damaged were being transported to evacuation centers.
Hundreds of injured people fled into the streets of Cianjur, some covered in blood and debris. The U.S. Geological Survey said Cianjur was the epicenter of the magnitude 5.6 quake.
Shaking was felt in the capital, Jakarta, about 70 kilometers away, where some high-rise buildings were evacuated.
'The majority of those who died were children,' Kamil said. He said many were public school students who had finished their regular classes for the day and were taking extra lessons at Islamic schools. Cianjur is known for having many Islamic boarding schools and mosques.
Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside hospitals, on terraces and in parking lots in the Cianjur region.
'I fainted. It was very strong,' Hasan, a construction worker who, like many Indonesians, uses one name, told The Associated Press. 'I saw my friends running to escape from the building. But it was too late to get out and I was hit by the wall.'
Earthquake survivors are treated outside of a hospital in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Nov. 21, 2022.
Several landslides closed roads near Cianjur. Among the dozens of buildings that were damaged was an Islamic boarding school, a hospital and other public facilities, authorities said. Power outages were reported.
Indonesia, with a population of more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In the last two years, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province, while a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
Get a daily dose of Long Beach Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Long Beach Star.
More InformationIsrael resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
This campaign explores ice hockey players' influence and popularity beyond their National Hockey League (NHL) careers. The goal was to ...
Phoenix, Arizona: On November 24, Arizona state troopers said an escaped bull was seen wandering on a Phoenix freeway, but ...
(Photo credit: Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK) Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker will not play Saturday night for ...
(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports) Paul George drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds remaining as the host ...
Jerusalem - Some of the Israeli hostages released from Gaza spoke publicly Saturday for the first time and urged their ...
Israel resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
LIVINGSTON, Kentucky: CSX railroad said that a failed wheel bearing on a train car caused a derailment on November 22 ...
HELSINKI, Finland: After Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier this year, hundreds of migrants from the Middle ...
CHISINAU, Moldova: Over the weekend, heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria left one person dead and ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: After a House Ethics Committee report found substantial evidence that he broke the law, New York Republican representative ...
In a report by The New York Times, it has been revealed that Israeli officials had obtained a detailed battle ...