In Indonesia’s Java, a temblor struck, killing over 200 people and destroying dozens of buildings. First responders set up mobile clinics to provide emergency care while others searched through the wreckage for survivors.
Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency head Suharyanto confirms that there can be over 700 people that are injured in the disaster.
The agency says that some of the property damaged are Islamic boarding schools, a hospital, and other public facilities.
Rescue teams continued to work on Tuesday afternoon to extricate survivors from crushed buildings after a massive earthquake leveled homes and buildings.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), late Monday afternoon, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Cianjur region in West Java at 1:21 PM.
After several discrepancies in the reported death toll, the scale, and type of destruction caused by the earthquake became more clear on Tuesday.
Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed by the recent earthquake, and thousands more have been evacuated. BNPB Major General Suharyanto recently released a statement detailing casualties, damage, and displacement that came from the natural disaster.
West Javan’s governor, Ridwan Kamil, said today that the death toll was likely to continue to rise because of numerous incidents at Islamic schools.
There have been multiple reports of children fleeing from their classrooms after feeling a powerful tremor or earthquake. More than 50 schools have been impacted by the tremors, according to Save the Children, an aid group.
Mia Saharosa, one of the teachers at one of the schools affected by the earthquake, told CNN the event was a shock to everyone. “By the time we arrived, there was a mass exodus,” Saharosa said. “It was chaos and complete confusion as families were very scared. We put our hands together and prayed, making sure no one else got hurt.”
On Tuesday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited areas affected by the earthquake and said that the government would provide compensation of up to $3,200 each for victims of the disaster.
President Widodo also said the government of Indonesia would work to rebuild their homes as earthquake-resistant buildings. They will focus on constructing buildings with new technologies that will prevent buildings from preventing collapse during earthquakes.
Further, rescue teams were unable to reach some of those trapped, but emergency personnel are still working to extricate them from the rubble. The situation remains chaotic, and rescue attempts are ongoing.
The government has been doing whatever it takes for the victims to provide them with tents, heaters, and blankets.
This is not the first time Indonesia has faced an earthquake of this magnitude. Indonesia is located at the bottom of one of the most seismically active regions in the world. It is situated around the Pacific Ocean and stretches from Japan to California on one side and South America on the other.
In February this year, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 25 people, and hundreds were injured.
