Indonesia earthquake: 44 dead and 300 injured, Still counting
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Cianjur: An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hit Indonesia's main island Java on Monday. Nearly 44 people have been killed and at least 300 people have been injured.
The head of Cianjur's administration, Herman Suherman, told Metro TV that most of the injured have fractures from being trapped in the ruins of buildings. A spokesperson Adam told AFP that dozens of people were killed and hundreds or even thousands of houses were damaged. Strong tremors were felt for several seconds in Jakarta.
The weather and geophysics agency (BMKG) said the epicenter was on land in Cianjur in West Java, at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). Within two hours after the quake, 25 aftershocks were recorded. There was no potential for a tsunami.
Footage from Metro TV showed some buildings in Cianjur reduced to rubble and residents were seen huddled outside. A statement from the national disaster agency said several homes and an Islamic boarding school in the area had been damaged.
One of the residents Muchlis told Metro TV that he felt a huge tremor when the earthquake hit. Then he saw the walls and ceiling of the office building being damaged. People ran out of the buildings and he saw some people fainting and vomiting in response. He added that he worried there would be another quake.
Officials are still assessing the full extent of the damage.
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and most of the islands are mountainous. Of the 400 volcanoes, approximately 150 are active. It is also close to the Ring of Fire, a region around the rim of the Pacific Ocean that is vulnerable to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
