Quake leaves hundreds homeless on three islands

Quake leaves hundreds homeless on three islands

SURABAYA (JP): Earthquakes hit Java, West Nusa Tenggara and
Bali on Monday night and early Tuesday, killing one person and
destroying hundreds of homes.

The first quake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, occurred
on Monday at 8:34 p.m. and was felt mainly in East Java.

Residents in Central Java, Sumbawa and Bali felt the tremor as
well, with some people in Bali reportedly panicking, according to
Antara.

Bali's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency reported that the
epicenter of the quake was believed to be located in the Indian
Ocean at a depth of 177 kilometers, some 90 kilometers south of
Blitar, East Java.

A meteorologist said a second quake on Tuesday was measured at
5.9 on the Richter scale at 3:28 a.m. He put the epicenter near
the Talaud islands, about 310 km northeast of Manado, North
Sulawesi. Residents in Talaud said they felt the tremor but
reported no damage.

On Tuesday, natural disaster task force provincial officials
set up a 24-hour watch center in the East Java capital, Surabaya,
at the Grahadi governor's office building to anticipate further
tremors.

The single victim of the quakes, a 40-year-old woman named
Mutammimah, died on Monday when hit by falling debris in the
village of Wonokerto in Bantur district, 45 km south of Malang.

Local residents reported seven houses had collapsed, while
dozens were left severely damaged. A mosque, a prayer house and
an elementary school also sustained minor damage.

In Malang 142 homes were reportedly damaged. This included
those in the Sumbermanjing Wetan district where 20 homes were
severely damaged, while another eight homes and a traditional
Moslem boarding house or pesantren were also damaged in Dampit
district, according to officials in Surabaya.

Governor Imam Utomo has ordered basic needs and medical
supplies sent to the affected areas.

In Lumajang regency, at least 50 homes were severely damaged
in Senduro and Pronojiwo districts. Samirun, a 55-year-old
resident of Burno village in Senduro, was severely injured. The
tremor was also felt in South Blitar and Pacitan, where roofs of
dozens of homes were damaged.

At least one woman, Karmi, 70, a resident of Wonotirto
district in Blitar, was rushed to the hospital after being hit by
falling debris from a roof. Fifteen homes collapsed in Ngajum
district at the foot of Mt. Kawi.

In Trenggalek regency, four houses collapsed and dozens were
damaged, with landslides reported to have taken place along roads
and hills. Part of the road connecting Dongko and Panggul
districts sank 30 centimeters.

Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Imam Soepardi said the
southern Malang districts of Bantur, Sumbermanjing Wetan and
Tirtojudo were the worst hit by the quakes.

He said the administration had requested emergency funds from
the central government.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, a quake measuring 6.3 on the
Richter scale was felt on Monday night lasting 10 seconds. No
casualties were reported. Mataram was also hit by a quake
measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale in mid July.

In the early hours of Sept. 21, a quake measuring 5.7 on the
Richter scale jolted Jakarta. No casualties were reported and
damage to buildings was minimal during the 90-second predawn
tremor. The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency had put the quake's
epicenter at 60 km beneath the beach resort area of Pelabuhan
Ratu in West Java, about 150 km south of Jakarta.

In Bandung, an official of the geology research division of
the directorate general of mineral resources, Engkon Kertapati,
urged people to take more preventive measures against
earthquakes. A plate boundary and subduction zone lie under the
Indian Ocean south of Java, making 80 percent of the archipelago
vulnerable to tremors.

The recent earthquakes, judging from their epicenters, were
caused by a shift in the Indo-Australia plate colliding with the
Eurasia plate in the Indian ocean seabed, Engkon said.

In March last year, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter
scale sent thousands of Jakartans fleeing out of high rise
buildings, malls and homes.

More potentially dangerous earthquakes, Engkon said, could
occur due to movements in other great fault areas: the Sumatra
Fault running along that island, the Palu-Koro Fault passing Palu
in Central Sulawesi and the Digul Fault in Irian Jaya.

"We should have more geological research in these areas,"
Engkon said. (nur/43/anr)