4 Died As A Result Of The M 5.4 Jayapura Earthquake, BNPB: The Victims Are In Roboh Cafe

Earthquake impact. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that 4 died as a result of an earthquake with a magnitude (M) of 5.4 that occurred in Jayapura City, Papua, Thursday, February 9.

The Head of the Jayapura City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Asep Khalid explained that the four victims were found from the rubble of a fire building that collapsed by earthquake shocks.

Asep said the location of the cafetaria was above the waters in the Jayapura City area, so the evacuation process was carried out by a team of experts to dive.

"There was a cafe that collapsed and there were four deaths. (The victims) were in the cafe, the shock then collapsed. The victim (the victim) was crushed. It immediately fell into the sea of the building. The building was on the edge of the talud," Asep said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday 9 February, confiscated by Antara.

Asep also said that when an earthquake occurred that was felt strong for 2-3 seconds, people panicked and scattered out of their homes.

When submitting a report to the BNPB Disaster Information and Communication Data Center (Pusdatinkom), Asep felt another aftershock.

The earthquake was felt strong for 2-3 seconds. This is now felt by the ongoing earthquake," said Asep.

Meanwhile Asep reported that several buildings such as houses, public facilities, and health facilities were damaged. Several patients at the Jayapura City Hospital were also evacuated to the yard of the building to avoid unwanted things.

"It came out really well. Everyone (patients) was outside," he said.

Furthermore, the Jayapura City BPBD team together with cross-related agencies are still in the process of collecting data on damage or casualties. The joint team also set up command posts and emergency tents for temporary evacuation.

Some of us in the TRC team monitored at the location. We are here to build a post for us to make a report. The rest of the Jayapura Province BPBD team also helped tents at the hospital," explained Asep.

Meanwhile, based on the results of monitoring by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake that occurred at 13.28 WIB or 15.28 WIT was centered at 2.60 LS and 140.66 BT at a depth of 10 kilometers.

When pulled straight, the earthquake in the shallow category is only about 1 kilometer southwest of Jayapura and 6 kilometers southeast of Jayapura City.

Referring to BMKG data, the Jayapura City area and its surroundings were rocked by earthquakes repeatedly up to 1,055 times since January 2, 2023 and what the community felt were 120 incidents.

The BNPB Control and Operations Center (Pusdalops) report previously also received reports of an earthquake measuring 4.7 on Wednesday, February 8, at 20.35 WIB or 22.35 WIT.

According to the latest data, the earthquake has caused the ceiling of Nurul Amin Dok V Mosque to collapse and several buildings were damaged.

As a form of public anticipation of the potential and threat of disasters that can be caused by earthquakes, BNPB invites the public not to panic but to continue to increase preparedness and vigilance against potential aftershocks.

Early warning of earthquakes can be made by utilizing items that are easy to find at home such as compiling cans in stages. It aims to be an alarm in the event of an earthquake.

BNPB also appealed to the public to ensure that the evacuation route out of the house was not blocked by large objects such as cabinets, tables, refrigerators and so on.

In addition, for the community to ensure that there are no large items such as cabinets, refrigerators, tables, and others, that can hinder the evacuation process from leaving the house during the earthquake.

Especially for people who live in coastal areas, pay attention to if an earthquake lasts more than 30 seconds, it is hoped that they will immediately go to a higher place to avoid the possibility of a tsunami.