Quake, tidal waves kill 10 in north Irian Jaya
Quake, tidal waves kill 10 in north Irian Jaya
BIAK, Irian Jayapura (JP): At least 10 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale shook several coastal towns in north Irian Jaya yesterday.
Reports of severe destruction came from Biak and Manokwari and many coastal villages were swept by tidal waves.
Police in Biak reported 10 deaths. The number could increase because reports suggested that whole villages along the coast on Biak Island were swept away by tidal waves immediately after the quake struck just before 3 p.m. local time.
In Biak, the town's main mosque, Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman, was flattened to the ground as was the main supermarket, Indah. Among government buildings destroyed include the statistics and transmigration offices, residents said.
Fien, a resident who lives opposite the supermarket, said most people managed to get out on time before the building collapsed.
There were also reports of fires in several places in Biak.
The town was dark last night as the power was out.
First Sergeant Sodi Irwanto of the Biak police precinct told The Jakarta Post that 10 people were killed and 17 others injured. Most of the deaths and injuries were caused by buildings collapsing, he said.
He described the situation in Biak as chaotic because there had been several aftershocks since the earthquake.
The authorities have appealed to people to leave their homes and head for open fields.
Biak's Frans Kaisiepo airport, which also caters to some international flights, was closed down because its control tower was destroyed and could not monitor or direct incoming flights, said Sodik Hasanuddin, the local manager of the PT Angkasa Putra which runs the airport.
"We are working on restoring the facilities as soon as possible," Sodik said, adding that at the earliest, the airport would reopen this afternoon.
Priyanto, the head of Biak Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, said the earthquake monitoring center in Jakarta measured the quake at 7.0 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean about 110 kilometers east of Biak and about 63 km under the sea, he said.
An earlier Antara report put the tremor at 7.5 on the scale while the Australian Geological Survey center in Canberra and Japan's Meteorological Agency both said they measured the quake at 8.0 on the Richter scale, Reuters reported.
At least four aftershocks were registered between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. yesterday, Priyanto said.
He also confirmed that tidal waves struck many parts of Biak's coast, some reaching three to four meters.
Antara reported that the quake also caused severe destruction in Manokwari, the main town in Irian Jaya's Birdhead region. The news agency said there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The police precinct was one of the structures demolished by the quake, and several parked cars were destroyed as buildings collapsed on them.
Mrs. Marsoedi, the wife of Manokwari administration secretary, told the Post that she was organizing a mass kitchen with the wives of administration officials to feed the more than 1,000 coastal people who lost their homes in the tidal waves.
Soldiers were deployed to help with the evacuation and distribute whatever relief aid is available locally.
The chief of the Search and Rescue Agency in Jakarta, Harinto, said his office has also taken steps to coordinate the operation, but said with most transportation facilities being deployed for the Idul Fitri travel, its Irian Jaya office would have to rely on whatever transportation means are available locally. (16/emb/Binny Buchori)