East Flores BPBD: No Report Of Damage Due To Earthquake

PHOTO VIA ANTARA/The situation when the earthquake occurred in the Flores Sea

KUPANG - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of East Flores Regency said that until now it has not received any reports related to damage to houses or buildings due to the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Flores Sea.

"As of tonight, we have not received any information regarding any damage to houses or buildings and casualties", said Head of BPBD East Flores, Alfonsus H. Betan, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, December 14.

After about one minute of the earthquake, Alfonsus immediately ordered all staff to coordinate with the sub-district head and village heads in the district to find out the impact of the disaster.

"There are several areas that we consider to be quite vulnerable, such as in Tanjung Bunga and several other sub-districts, but so far no reports have come in", he said.

However, his party will continue to coordinate with related parties to monitor the development of the impact of the earthquake.

Alfonsus admitted that he felt the earthquake and had run out of his office along with a number of his staff because he was worried that the shock from the earthquake could knock down the house.

He hoped that the public would not need to panic but remain vigilant because aftershocks are still happening so far based on information from the BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency).

Previously, BMKG reported that an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred in the Flores Sea, about 112 kilometers northwest of Larantuka, East Flores, Tuesday, at around 10.20 WIB, with the potential for a tsunami.

Head of the BMKG Kupang Geophysics Station, Margiono, explained that the earthquake had the potential for a tsunami that could hit several areas in NTT and Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi.

He asked residents in areas potentially affected by the tsunami to increase their vigilance or move to safer places to avoid the threat of a tsunami.

Margiono also asked the provincial or district/city governments that are on alert status to immediately direct the community to carry out a thorough evacuation.