TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The district of North Nias, North Sumatra, was hit by an earthquake recently. The quake with a magnitude of 5.6 Richter Scale (RS) lasted for 5 to 7 seconds in almost all areas of North Nias. National Board for Disaster Management spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says the quake is located at 1.3 north latitude, 97.33 east longitude or 9 km northwest of North Nias.
Head of Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) North Nias Faozaro said panics occured in Lotu, capital city of North Nias. “Residents rushed out of their homes,” Faozaro said. Great vibrations, according to Faozaro, could be felt around 7:53:22 am. “The shake only occured about 5 to 7 seconds,” said Faozaro.
The Disaster Management Agency has yet recieve reports from areas far away from Loto, Faozaro says. “I have not been able confirm whether there have been any damages or casualties. We are still trying to obtain informations from field officials that are already on site,” Faozaro said.
The district of north Nias is exactly above Sumatra fault and has often been hit by earthquakes. Last year on July 5, 2014, a 5.9 RS earthquake was also detected near the location of today’s quake. A 5.2-magnitude earthquake also occured on September 14, 2014 on the southwest side of north Nias at 11:34 pm, exactly 25 km away from North Nias.
SAHAT SIMATUPANG
