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Sumedang earthquake had more severe impact than first thought: BNPB
The head of BNPB explained the unexpected impact of the earthquakes in Sumedang and how the government had already established a seven-day emergency response.
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Sumedang General Hospital patients are treated outside on the street following an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 in Sumedang regency, West Java, on Dec. 31, 2023. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
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ational Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Lt. Gen. Suharyanto said on Monday that the earthquake in downtown Sumedang, West Java, had a more significant impact than initially believed.
"We initially expected there would be no significant impact. There were five earthquakes, but the others were small. But there was one on that [Sunday] night that reached [a magnitude of] 4.8, and it turned out to have a significant impact," Suharyanto said in a temporary tent around Sumedang General Hospital, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Several earthquakes took place in Sumedang regency from Sunday to Monday.
The first was a 4.1 magnitude earthquake, 7 kilometers deep, at 2:35 p.m. The following was a 3.4 magnitude earthquake, 6 kilometers deep, at around 3:38 p.m. The third and largest earthquake reached a magnitude of 4.8, 5 kilometers deep, at 8:34 p.m.
Then, two aftershocks occurred around Sunday at 11:23 p.m. and Monday at around 3:47 a.m.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded another earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 and a depth of 10 kilometers on Monday at 8:46 p.m. However, the BMKG has not elaborated on the impact caused by the latest earthquake.
Suharyanto said his team noted that many houses were damaged by the earthquakes during field checks. He urged the Sumedang regency administration to quickly collect data on the damage caused, particularly regarding residents' homes.
