House of Representatives Chairman asks the government to reach isolated residents due to the earthquake in North Sulawesi

JAKARTA - House of Representatives (DPR) Chairwoman Puan Maharani asked the government to immediately reach out to people affected by the major earthquake in North Sulawesi and its surrounding areas, especially residents on the outermost island in Sangihe Regency which were isolated due to the destruction of public facilities infrastructure.

"The government must immediately reach out to the community that was isolated by the earthquake, especially residents living on the outermost/most forward islands. Assistance must be quickly distributed," said Puan, Tuesday, June 9.

As is known, North Sulawesi residents were surprised by the strong shock of a tectonic earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 on Monday, June 8 morning. This earthquake is a series of devastating earthquakes in the Philippines.

BMKG recorded the earthquake on Monday morning, June 8, 2026 at 06.37 WIB or 07.37 Wita. The latest analysis shows that the earthquake's strength reached a magnitude of 7.7. The epicenter was in the sea about 244 kilometers northwest of Karatung Island, North Sulawesi, which borders directly with the Philippines.

In addition to Sangihe, the earthquake tremors were felt in a number of areas in North Sulawesi, including Manado and its surrounding areas. Several reports also said that the tremors were felt up to Gorontalo and other areas in eastern Indonesia.

Although there were no casualties, Puan said that this major earthquake in North Sulawesi must be a momentum for a national evaluation of the readiness of the disaster mitigation system. According to him, damage can occur even when the number of casualties can be minimized.

"This shows that the size of the success of disaster management needs to be expanded. The resilience of disasters in the outermost islands must also be increasingly considered. Geographical challenges should actually be a factor for the State to have anticipation when disasters occur so that they do not cause a heavy burden on the community," said Puan.