BNPB Urges Residents Affected By The Mamuju Earthquake In West Sulawesi Not To Evacuate To High Places

Residents drive to areas that are considered safer after the earthquake hit the Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi Province, Wednesday (08/6/2022). (ANTARA Photo/M Faisal Hanapi)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) appealed to residents affected by the earthquake in Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi, not to evacuate to higher places.

This refers to the information provided by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), which reported an earthquake centered at coordinates 2.77° South Latitude; 118.56° East Longitude, or to be precise, located in the sea at a distance of 26 kilometers west of West Tapalang, Mamuju, West Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km, it has no tsunami potential.

"BNPB urges residents, especially in areas affected by earthquake shocks not to panic, but remain vigilant. Residents also do not need to evacuate to higher places, because there will be no tsunami," said the Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center. , Abdul Muhari in a written statement quoted by Antara, Thursday, June 9.

BNPB appealed to people who had already fled to the highlands to come back down and check the condition of their respective homes.

If you find that your house is heavily damaged, immediately report it to the local district/city Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) to get support for family tents or emergency tents so that people can build temporary tents in their respective yards.

Affected communities also have the option to evacuate at centralized evacuation points opened by local governments. This will facilitate data collection and distribution of aid.

"In addition, residents are also expected to remain calm and not be influenced by issues that cannot be justified. Make sure official information only comes from relevant institutions and agencies that are distributed through official communication channels that can be accounted for," said Abdul.

According to the BNPB report, approximately 20 thousand residents of Majene Regency fled to higher ground and open fields after an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 in the Mamuju area, West Sulawesi.

Based on a visual report from the field at 16.30 WIB, residents began setting up emergency tents using blue and orange tarpaulins at several points not far from their settlements and at the Kota Tinggi Vocational School.

The residents of Mamuju Regency also did the same thing, for fear of aftershocks and the potential threat of a tsunami. Visual monitoring from the field showed that there were three evacuation points for residents, namely at the Mamuju Stadium, the Mamuju Regent's Office and the West Sulawesi TVRI Office in Mamuju.

As many as four residents of Mamuju Regency were reported to have suffered moderate injuries after being hit by debris from the PKK Building, the office of the Governor of West Sulawesi Province, when the earthquake occurred. Currently, the four residents have received intensive care at the Bhayangkara Mamuju Hospital.