At least 162 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit Indonesia’s main island on Monday afternoon.
The 5.6 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Cianjur, just some 45 miles from the capital of Jakarta, rocked the Southeast Asian nation at 1.21 pm.
As a result of heavy tremors, hundreds of buildings collapsed or suffered heavy damage. Several landslides that hit the town of Cianjur were also triggered in the process.
According to the local reports, the shaking took place for several minutes and resulted in the devastation of at least 2,000 homes, leaving 13,000 people displaced.
On top of 162 fatalities, at least 700 people were injured by falling debris.
“We are currently handling people who are in an emergency state in this hospital. The ambulances keep on coming from the villages to the hospital,” one Cianjur resident said as they revealed their local hospital has been flooded with victims of the quake.
“There are many families in villages that have not been evacuated.”
Another revealed they were in their office when the shaking began.
“The quake felt so strong. My colleagues and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor using the emergency stairs,” Vidi Primadhania recalled.
While Indonesia is no stranger to powerful quakes, the tremors are usually not so strongly felt in the capital of Jakarta and its surroundings.
“I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly. I tried to do nothing to process what it was but it became even stronger and lasted for some time,” 22-year-old Mayadita Waluyo said.
“I feel a bit dizzy now and my legs are also a bit cramped because I had to walk downstairs from the 14th floor.”
As of this writing, rescue operations in the country continue.
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