Ambon City (Indonesia): At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured Thursday in a strong earthquake that rocked Indonesia’s remote Maluku islands. The earthquake triggered huge landslides that buried at least one of the victims, the disaster agency of the country said.
Terrified residents ran into the streets as buildings fell in around them when the 6.5-magnitude quake hit in the morning. “At least 100 people were injured and more than 2,000 evacuated,” said national disaster mitigation spokesman Agus Wibowo who gave the latest death toll in statement. Among those killed was an infant, Wibowo stated.
Earlier, local disaster agency officials said some victims had been killed by falling debris while one person was buried in a landslide. Another victim died of a heart attack as the tremor hit, while one woman died after falling off her motorbike while fleeing to higher ground, officials said.
Some patients fled a local hospital as the quake hit, prompting officials to set up makeshift shelters outside the building, an official said.
“The impact was felt across Ambon city and surrounding areas,” said Rahmat Triyono, head of the earthquake and tsunami division at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG). The area was hit by at least two dozen aftershocks including one that measured 5.6 magnitude, Triyono said.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth. It experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates collide.
In August, five people died and several were injured after a powerful undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s heavily populated Java Island. Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi Island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
AFP