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Hundreds of houses collapse on E. Java island after powerful earthquake
A strong earthquake rocked Sapudi Island in Sumenep, East Java, killing three and damaging hundreds of houses.
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Residents visit the ruins of a house in Prambanan village on Sapudi Island, East Java, after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted an area in waters off the coast of Situbondo, East Java, on Oct. 11. Three died in the village under their collapsed houses. The earthquake was also felt in Bali. (JP/Courtesy of Purwandi)
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t was 1:44 a.m. on Thursday when Purwandi felt a tremor that woke him from his deep slumber, causing him to run outside his house on Sapudi Island in Sumenep, East Java, on Thursday.
He and other residents of the island's Pancor village watched from outside as the ground shook and rattled their houses. No one dared to return home. They stayed awake outside, with some walking throughout the neighborhood until morning came.
“Up until dawn, there were many residents who felt scared to go back inside their houses. Most of them are afraid and dealing with trauma due to the huge tremor,” Purwandi told The Jakarta Post.
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake centered in waters northeast of Situbondo, East Java, rocked the island, which is located near the epicenter of the quake. The epicenter was at a depth of 12 kilometers and 161 km northwest of Denpasar, Bali. No tsunami alert was issued following the quake.
Sapudi residents were struck by another harrowing fact when they saw their homes in the morning. Even though the strong jolts lasted only seconds, many found that the walls of their houses had collapsed.
Taufik Majid, a Pancor resident, found that half of his house was destroyed.
Three people in Prambanan village died after their houses collapsed on them when the earthquake struck.
“The victims were sleeping when the earthquake hit, causing the houses to collapse so that the victims were unable to escape,” said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Local authorities recorded that 317 houses in 10 villages were damaged in the earthquake. The East Java administration said it would allocate Rp 23.7 billion to repair the houses.
Each family that lost someone in the disaster will receive Rp 5 million from the administration.
“We already formed a team to build houses for one cluster of 10 families. Supplies have been sent to rebuild the houses,” said East Java Governor Soekarwo, who flew directly via chopper from Surabaya, the provincial capital, to the 126-square-kilometer island to inspect the disaster area on Thursday.
What was more important, Soekarwo said, was that his administration deal with the issue as soon as possible.
Soekarwo also said that the money given to families of the deceased victims was to cover funeral costs, while injured residents would receive free medical assistance from the provincial and regency administrations.
The earthquake was also felt in Bali and Lombok. According to a report from the Bali Disaster Mitigation Agency, most of the damaged buildings were houses belonging to the residents of Jembrana regency. (dpk)
