Vice President Gibran to Visit M 7.6 Bitung Earthquake Victims, 160 Joint Units Dispatched

Hundreds of personnel make an appeal for readiness for Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Gibran Rakabuming to visit Bitung, Tuesday (7/4/2026). ANTARA/Nancy Tigauw

Hundreds of joint personnel from the TNI, Polri and the Bitung City Government, North Sulawesi, held a standby appeal to secure Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's visit.

"This apple is to ensure the physical, mental, and coordination readiness of each agency for the security of the Vice President's visit," said the Head of Operations of the Bitung Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Novrianto Sadia, after the appeal at the Bitung Dua Sudara Stadium, Tuesday, Tuesday, April 7, quoted by Antara.

Around 160 personnel took part in the readiness call for the Vice President's arrival in Bitung City in order to visit people affected by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Sulut region on April 2, 2026.

Data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded that the epicenter was 129 kilometers southeast of Bitung with a depth of 33 kilometers. Precisely at the coordinates of 1.25 North Latitude (LU) -126.27 East Longitude (BT).

The earthquake centered in the south of Bitung triggered a tsunami wave although it was only about 20 centimeters and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

The magnitude 7.6 earthquake also triggered landslides and building damage, especially in the Manembo-nembo Tengah Village, Matuari District.

This disaster resulted in the collapse of the embankment, damaged houses, and panic. The local government immediately responded to the impact of the disaster.

Ahead of Vice President Gibran's visit to Bitung, a number of state civil servants (ASN) in the Matuari District and a number of villages cleaned the environment on the access road to the homes of residents affected by the earthquake disaster to be visited by the Vice President.

The Vice President arrived in Manado City on Monday (6/4) evening at around 19.00 Wita and immediately went to the funeral home of one of the earthquake victims in Tateli Village, Minahasa Regency.

The earthquake caused one resident of Tateli, Minahasa, on behalf of Deitje Lahia (age 69) to die.

Deitje died as a result of being hit by the ruins of a building in the KONI Building area, Manado, and was buried by the family.