Earthquake Shakes Pacitan, Residents Scattered Out, Worried About Aftershocks

Illustration - The 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked Pacitan (photo: dock. between)

PACITAN - Residents in the Pacitan City area, East Java, Sunday, July 23, had scattered out and did not immediately return home when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 rocked the southern coastal area of the area. There was no damage or casualties in the incident. However, residents were traumatized and worried about aftershocks. "We are still monitoring and coordinating with the TRC volunteer network (rapid reaction team) in the villages," said Pacitan BPBD Chief Executive Erwin Andriatmoko. He hopes that there will be no serious detrimental impact. However, Erwin still appealed to residents to be vigilant. The 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at around 19.33 WIB. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the epicenter was 84 km southwest of Pacitan Regency, East Java. The location is precisely at 8.94 south latitude, 111.04 east longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers. BMKG in its release stated that the earthquake did not have the potential for a tsunami.Purwo, one of the young figures in Pacitan Explorat earthquake, triggered a temporary panic.

Warga berhamburan karena takut guncangan gempa meningkat dan memicu kerusakan pada tempat mukim mereka."Ya, itu respon mitigasi alami warga. Setiap ada gempa, sebisa mungkin mencari posisi aman demi keselamatan," kata dia.Beberapa warga lain juga memilih berada di tepi jalan untuk sementara waktu. Salah satunya Paesah yang tak lain tetangga Emi. Perempuan ini mengaku kaget saat merasakan getaran.Warga lain yang memilih mengamankan diri di luar rumah adalah Rini. Karyawati sebuah perusahaan itu tetap berdiri di samping motor yang terparkir di halaman meski gempa sudah berlalu."Tadi pas gempa saya lagi telepon. Terus terputus karena saya tinggal lari. Ini saya coba telepon lagi," ujarnya.*