JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered quick rescue and relief efforts after eight people were killed in an earthquake that struck the southern island of Java.
Three others were seriously injured in Saturday’s quake at the magnitude 5.9 and more than 1,180 buildings were damaged, most of them lightly, disaster agency BNPB said. Some houses were demolished, images showed in Indonesian media.
Two shelters for displaced people have been set up in the city of Lumajang.
All the casualties were reported in 15 districts and cities in East Java, the closest province to the epicenter of the earthquake that struck the Indian Ocean.
“I have ordered … immediate emergency response to search for and find victims under the rubble and treat the wounded,” said the president, known by his popular name Jokowi.
There were no reports of the quake disrupting production facilities, but the BNPB said 150 public facilities had been damaged. Most industrial areas in East Java are located on the north side of the island.
Jokowi noted that as Indonesia lies over the volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Pacific Ocean, natural disasters such as earthquakes can occur at any time, adding that Indonesians should always be prepared.
The Southeast Asian country was hit last week by tropical cyclone Seroja, which caused landslides and flash floods that killed more than 170 people on islands in the eastern Nusa Tenggara province.
More than 100 people were killed in the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the island of Sulawesi.
Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Written by Gayatri Suroyo; Edited by William Mallard