Cianjur Records 236 Aftershocks, Increased Casualty

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Java's Cianjur continued to record more aftershocks following Monday's earthquake, as reported by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG).

"Until now on November 25 at 06:00, there have been 236 aftershocks with the magnitudes of 4.2 and 1.2," said BMKG Daryono tweeted on his personal Twitter account. On Thursday, 191 aftershocks were recorded at 06:00.

The aftershocks created panic

One of the aftershocks that occurred on Friday, November 25, 2022, at 01:44, induced panic among the residents. The quake was felt longer which caused residents to scatter out of their homes.

The tremor was recorded at a magnitude of 4.1 with a depth of 10 kilometers. The center of the quake was 8 kilometers southwest of the city of Cianjur. The strength was at scale IV of the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI), which was felt by many people inside the house causing broken pottery, with windows/doors rattling and walls creaking. 

Residents living in Sawahgede, Cianjur Regency, ran out of their houses and crowded the middle of the road. "The earthquake was quite long and harsh," said a resident, Tony, 30 years old.

Some of the residents decided to sleep in their cars. Tony chose to sleep along with his 5-year-old child and wife. "I just sleep in the car because I'm afraid to go inside the house," he said.

Casualty

The death toll from the Cianjur earthquake has also increased. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated that the death toll has now risen to 272 people. The data is based on the search process done by the evacuation team which was carried out on Thursday, November 24.

Head of BNPB, Suharyanto, said that today the evacuation team managed to remove one body from the rubble. In addition, he said, the team had identified the dead victims. As a result, 165 of the 272 victims have been identified based on their names and residence.

"There are 107 bodies that are still being identified," he said in a press conference in front of the Cianjur Regent's office, Thursday, November 24, 2022.

In addition, Suharyanto said that his institution recorded a total of 2,046 injured people. Most were treated by a medical team at the evacuation post and or will be transferred to hospitals outside Cianjur.

The report received by BNPB stated that 39 people were still unaccounted for as a result of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake. Suharyanto detailed that the 32 people are residents of Cugenang District, Cianjur Regency. The search process was carried out by 6,000 personnel of the evacuation team and passersby.

Maria Fransisca Lahur | Translator: Intern / Imaji Lasahido