Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake in Cianjur: Four Houses in Babakankaret Suffer Wall Damage

A tectonic earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 struck Cianjur Regency, West Java, causing at least four residential houses in Babakankaret Village, Cianjur District, to suffer minor damage.

The Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) confirmed that cracked walls were the primary impact resulting from ground movement caused by the Cisokan Fault activity.

The Head of BPBD Cianjur, Iwan Karyadi, revealed that technical teams on the ground are continuing to sweep areas from northern to southern Cianjur to anticipate additional reports of damage following the tremors that occurred on Tuesday evening (1/9).

“Damage due to the earthquake was reported in Babakankaret Village due to Cisokan Fault activity, where residents’ house walls experienced cracks, while data collection in other areas is still ongoing,” said Iwan Karyadi in Cianjur on Wednesday (2/9).

Based on analysis by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the main earthquake epicentre occurred on Tuesday (1/9) at 17:53 WIB. The epicentre was located on land at coordinates 6.91 LS and 107.10 BT, approximately 10 kilometres southwest of Cianjur Regency at a shallow depth of 4 kilometres.

The initial tremors were felt as far as Sukabumi, Bogor, and Bandung, followed by a minor magnitude 1.7 earthquake.

“When an earthquake occurs, do not panic; immediately seek shelter or move outdoors. Ensure there are no aftershocks before returning inside your rooms or houses,” Iwan advised residents.

BPBD urged the public to remain calm but to stay vigilant regarding natural disaster mitigation, especially when inside structures with vulnerable frameworks.

“We will continue to conduct supervision and monitoring to ensure there is no further damage following the two earthquakes that shook Cianlam,” he concluded.