Prabowo's Directive to BNPB: Act Swiftly to Evacuate Residents Affected by Earthquake in North Sulawesi-North Maluku

Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has received a report from the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, regarding the earthquake in North Sulawesi (Sulut) and North Maluku (Malut). “This morning, the President received a report from the BNPB Head regarding the incident in the provinces of North Sulawesi and North Maluku, particularly in the cities of Bitung and Ternate as well as Batang Dua Island,” said Cabinet Secretary Teddy in his statement on Thursday, 2 April 2026. Cabinet Secretary Teddy explained that all elements, from local BNPB to TNI-Polri apparatus, have moved quickly to assess and evacuate affected residents. In addition, the BNPB Head has urged local communities to avoid activities in buildings damaged by the earthquake. Cabinet Secretary Teddy elaborated that President Prabowo has also directed the BNPB Head to act swiftly in evacuating affected communities. “This morning through the BNPB Head, the President directly ordered all apparatus and BNPB teams to evacuate affected residents as quickly as possible. Today, the BNPB Head has arrived in North Sulawesi and other teams have arrived in North Maluku,” he said. Previously reported, the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the waters of Bitung, North Sulawesi and North Maluku, on Thursday at 06:48 WITA, triggered an early tsunami warning from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in the waters of North Sulawesi and North Maluku. The magnitude 7.6 earthquake was located at 1.25 degrees north latitude, 126.27 degrees east longitude, and at a sea depth of 62 km. Coordinator of Data and Information at the Manado Geophysics Station BMKG, Muhammad Zulkifli, stated that seven areas in North Maluku Province and North Sulawesi are at potential tsunami alert. “Areas in North Maluku Province at potential tsunami alert include Ternate, Halmahera, and Tidore,” he said in Manado on Thursday.