4 Women Dies as Earthquake in Papua Causes Cafe to Collapse into Water

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck Papua's Jayapura City on Thursday, February 9, shortly before 13:30. The shallow earthquake caused a café located on a dock in North Jayapura to collapse and fall into the water, killing four women.

All victims were under the age of 30 who were employees of the Cirita Cafe. The stilts of the wooden structure broke, causing the building to fall into the water.

The earthquake also caused injuries to four others in different locations and forced thousands to find shelters. Dozens of buildings were damaged, including the Dok V State Building and the Dok II Hospital in North Jayapura.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake's epicenter was at 2.60 south latitude and 140.66 east longitude. The epicenter was onshore, with a depth of 10 kilometers, putting it in the category of shallow earthquakes

As of last night, hundreds of aftershocks were still shaking the city of Jayapura and its surroundings. Based on BMKG's observations, from January 2 to February 9 there have been 1,116 earthquakes occurred in areas around Jayapura City, 147 of which were felt by residents.

Maria Fransisca Lahur