Batang Dua Residents Celebrate Easter in Emergency Tents After Earthquake

Residents of Mayau Village, Batang Dua Island, Ternate City, chose to hold their Easter worship services in emergency tents following the magnitude 7.6 earthquake on Thursday, 2 April 2026, at around 07:48 WIT. This was necessary because their church buildings had collapsed and been damaged by the quake.

“This year is indeed different; if last year’s Easter was celebrated grandly, this time we are only holding it in an emergency tent. But that does not diminish our spirit for Easter worship,” said Linda Kaunang, 47, one of the Batang Dua residents, to Tempo on Friday, 3 April 2026.

Linda said that this year’s Good Friday observance was held simply in the emergency tent and not celebrated grandly. Many people on Batang Dua Island chose to hold simple Easter worship after the earthquake that occurred last Thursday. The small and cramped tent did not prevent the community from celebrating Easter.

“Our church may have collapsed now, but not our faith. That’s why many Batang Dua residents are celebrating Easter even in a tent,” Linda stated.

Rizal Marsaoly, Head of the Ternate City Disaster Management Task Force, said that based on the data collected, at least four churches on Batang Dua Island suffered severe damage following the earthquake last Thursday. These four churches are located in Bido Ward, Tifure, Mayau, and Pante Sagu.

“The condition of the church buildings all experienced minor and severe damage. Some of them even cannot be used because they have collapsed,” Rizal told Tempo on Friday, 3 April 2026.

According to Rizal, besides places of worship, the earthquake also caused a number of residents’ houses on Batang Dua Island to suffer severe damage. Based on field data collection, 32 houses experienced heavy damage, 36 houses moderate damage, and 65 houses minor damage.

“We are still in the field at the moment; although the earthquake’s impact is quite severe, community activities have returned to normal. We have also urged the public not to panic and to always coordinate with the government,” Rizal said.

Previously, the magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Ternate and Tidore. The epicentre, located at coordinates 1.25 North Latitude – 126.27 East Longitude with a depth of 62 kilometres, briefly caused panic among residents. The quake was reported to be felt as far as Ternate City, Tidore Islands City, Sofifi City in North Maluku, and Bitung, Manado, and Minahasa in North Sulawesi.