TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 1626/Bangli District Military Command has deployed 44 personnel to assist in the evacuation of residents affected by landslides in Trunyan village, Bangli district, Bali, following a 4.8-magnitude tectonic earthquake in the region.

"Today, there are 44 personnel who have been dispatched. There will be additional joint personnel of 20-30 people from 18/Yudha Karya Raksaka Combat Engineer Battalion and the police tomorrow," commander of the district military command, Lieutenant Colonel I Gde Putu Suwardana, said from Denpasar city when contacted by telephone on Saturday.

There are eight locations where landslides have blocked the road between Buahan and Trunyan villages, he informed.

At one of the landslide locations, four houses have been buried, with two inhabitants dying and two others surviving with injuries, he said.

"The falling rocks were as big as cars. It turns out that the cliff often collapses. The last incident happened in 2019. However, it was not as damaging as this time," the commander noted.

According to him, besides the earthquake, the disaster was also triggered by dry soil. Meanwhile, most of the residents had been evacuated to their relatives' houses which were far from the cliff, he said.

"We did not establish any refugee camp as the location is not comfortable for the victims. It is for the safety of all residents," he added.

The shallow earthquake rocked the village at 4:18 a.m. Central Indonesia Standard Time (WITA) on Saturday. Its epicenter was located at the 8.32 degrees south latitude and 115.45 degrees east longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers (km), officials informed.

As of 4.42 a.m. WITA, there were two aftershocks of 3.8 magnitude and 2.7 magnitude earthquake in the area, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency reported.

Read: Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake in Bali Kills 3

ANTARA