Prabowo Instructs BNPB to Swiftly Evacuate Victims of Sulut-Malut Earthquake
President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has instructed the BNPB to act swiftly to evacuate residents affected by the earthquake disaster in North Sulawesi and North Maluku.
“This morning through the Head of BNPB, the President has directly ordered all apparatus and BNPB teams to evacuate affected residents as quickly as possible,” said Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya in his statement on Thursday (2/4).
Teddy conveyed that following Prabowo’s directive, the Head of BNPB arrived in North Sulawesi today.
He also stated that BNPB’s regional rapid response teams, TNI and Police apparatus, and local governments have immediately checked and evacuated the affected locations.
“The Head of BNPB has urged residents not to resume activities in buildings affected by the quake,” he said.
In addition, Teddy mentioned that they have coordinated with the Governments of North Maluku and North Sulawesi.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 rocked the waters off Bitung, North Sulawesi, on Thursday.
Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre Abdul Muhari stated that a tsunami was detected in the West Halmahera region with a height of 0.3 metres at 06:08 WIB and in the Bitung region at 0.2 metres at 06:15 WIB.
Although relatively small, this situation still requires vigilance because the potential for follow-up waves remains possible.
Therefore, BNPB has asked the public, especially those in coastal areas of North Sulawesi and North Maluku, to stay away from the beach and not return to vulnerable areas until there is an official safe statement from the government.
The public is also urged to remain calm, follow instructions from local apparatus, and not spread unverified information. He said monitoring and information updates will continue to be carried out according to developments on the ground.
Furthermore, Abdul said that as of 07:00 WIB, two aftershocks were recorded, each with magnitudes of 5.5 at 06:07 WIB and 5.2 at 06:12 WIB. Both aftershocks were centred at sea and posed no tsunami risk, but were still felt by residents in the affected areas.