Seven residents of Cianjur District, West Java Province, were injured in a 4.3-magnitude (M) earthquake that rocked the area early on Tuesday morning, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported.
Most of the residents fled in panic as the quake was accompanied by significantly strong tremors around 2:50 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB), Head of the Cianjur District BPBD Fatah Rizal informed here on Tuesday.
“We immediately collected the data (on casualties and damages). The vibrations were also sensed in a number of nearby cities/districts,” he added.
Seven residents in several sub-districts of Cianjur district were injured in the quake. Two residents who sustained serious injuries were taken to Sayang Cianjur Hospital and Cimacan Hospital for treatment.
They were identified as Ajid Sakib (7), a resident of Ciputri Village, Pacet Sub-district, and Ujang (28), a resident of Sarampad Village, Cugenang Sub-district.
Meanwhile, five others who suffered minor to moderate injuries due to collapsed ceilings or falling roof tiles were treated at a number of community health centers (puskesmas) and were able to return home by noon.
“Regarding the (number of) damaged houses, the data is still being collected,” the BPBD head said.
However, according to the temporary report, the condition of many houses in Nagrak Village, which suffered moderate damage in the 5.6M earthquake on November 2022, worsened due to the 4.3M quake on Tuesday, he said.
Due to the 4.3M earthquake, residents, who had just returned home in the past few days following the previous 5.6M quake, rushed out of their homes and took shelter in emergency tents again in anticipation of aftershocks, which could further damage their homes.
“We prefer to set up an emergency tent in front of the house for fear that aftershocks may occur again at night,” a resident of Nagrak Village, Vicki (46), said.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has recorded around 482 aftershocks following the 5.6M quake on November 21, 2022, ranging in magnitude from 1.0 to 4.3.
The 4.3M aftershock, which occurred early Tuesday morning, was the strongest experienced in the past two months.
Source: Antara News