Fear Of Susulants, Donggala Residents Refuge In Front Of The House After Being Rocked By An M 6.3 Earthquake

Residents of Donggala in Central Sulawesi are worried that aftershocks will evacuate in front of their homes after being vibrationd by an earthquake measuring M 6.3 on Saturday, September 9 evening. (doc BNPB)

JAKARTA - Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi was rocked by an earthquake with a magnitude (M) of 6.3 on Saturday, September 9 at 21:43 WIB. As a result, 3,780 residents fled.

Head of Prevention and Preparedness, Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Donggala Regency Moh Fickri Vetran said the residents took refuge in front of their respective homes because they were still traumatized and worried about aftershocks.

"Residents are self-evacuating on the side of the road in front of their respective homes. Currently, our team is still collecting data on the impact of the earthquake," Fikri said in his statement, Sunday, September 10.

Meanwhile, residents living near the coast have set up tents independently on the highlands, in anticipation of aftershocks that have the potential for a tsunami.

BPBD Donggala Regency, continued Fickri, will set up refugee tents if necessary and if there are still residents who evacuate. Because, according to him, this morning there were already residents who returned to their respective homes.

Only those on the coast fled to the highlands and some were at the gathering point. But this morning gradually returned to their respective homes," explained Fickri.

As a result of this earthquake, as many as three houses suffered minor damage. The team continues to comb several locations for further assessments. Meanwhile, there have been no reports of casualties due to the disaster.

The M 6.3 earthquake in Donggala Regency last night was centered at sea at 0.03 North Latitude and 119.80 East Longitude or 50 kilometers northwest of Donggala with a depth of 10 kilometers. This earthquake has no potential for a tsunami.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) noted that the earthquake shock M 6.3 was also felt in several areas for approximately 1-5 seconds.

The areas that reported strong to weak shocks include Palu City, Parigi Moutong Regency and Toli-Toli Regency. All BPBDs in the area this morning also conducted a rapid assessment and further monitoring.