BMKG Asks Cianjur Residents To Be Alert For Post-Disaster Disasters And Flash Floods

Photo via Twitter BNPB

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) asked the people of Cianjur Regency, West Java to be aware of further disasters after the 5.6 magnitude earthquake on Monday, November 21 yesterday.

Further disasters that have the potential to occur are landslides and flash floods. This vigilance is aimed at residents who live on hilly slopes, valleys, and riverbanks.

Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati revealed that the slopes of the hills have the potential to become fragile after an earthquake. This can be further exacerbated by the high intensity of rain that has the potential to flush Cianjur.

"These fragile lines plus heavy rains can trigger landslides and flash floods by bringing material to collapse slopes. So the community and the local government also need to be aware of any colateral hazards or follow-up hazards after yesterday's earthquake," said Dwikorita in his statement, Tuesday, November 22.

Dwikorita asked the public to avoid buildings that were cracked or damaged by the earthquake. It is feared that it will not be strong enough to support and collapse if at any time there is a follow-up earthquake.

"For the time being, don't force it back to the house if the building is damaged or cracked. Until 06.00 WIB, November 22, 2022, there have been 117 aftershocks with the largest vibration height of 4.2 and the smallest of 1.5 magnitudes," he explained.

Furthermore, Dwikorita said that the BMKG team jumped into the disaster site with the Cianjur City BPBD to conduct socialization and calm the affected residents.

Today, the BMKG survey team also recorded aftershocks and damage levels, to produce macrozoned and microzoned maps needed to support the process of spatial planning reconstruction and refinement.

For information, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 with a depth of 10 kilometers at 13.21 WIB today.

Based on the records of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) as of Tuesday, November 22 at 09.55 WIB, it was recorded that the victim died due to the earthquake in Cianjur. A total of 31 people are still reported missing.

377 people were injured in Cianjur Regency, 1 person was injured in Bandung Regency, 1 person was seriously injured and 9 people were slightly injured in Sukabumi Regency, and 2 people were slightly injured in Bogor Regency.