At Least 162 Dead After Powerful Earthquake Hits Indonesia’s Populated Java Island

At least 162 people have been killed, and hundreds others injured, after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday.

The temblor was centered about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of Ciranjang-Hilir at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey, triggering a relatively strong quake near the town of Cianjur in West Java.

The death toll has risen to 162 people, with 326 others injured as a result of the earthquake, West Java governor Ridwan Kamil said in an Instagram post late Monday. He said that at least 2,345 homes were severely damaged.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) initially reported 62 fatalities, and that rescue efforts are still ongoing as 25 people were trapped under collapsed buildings.

More than 13,000 people were displaced and sent to evacuation centers.

Ridwan said that it would take three days to restore power in the affected areas, with the Internet line still down. The situation remains dangerous as 88 aftershocks have been recorded, he added.

Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside hospitals, on terraces, and in parking lots across the Cianjur region, about three hours drive from Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta.

The injured, including children, were given oxygen masks and IV lines. Some were resuscitated.

BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari said the earthquake triggered several landslides that closed a cross-provincial road in the district of Cianjur. He urged residents to remain vigilant and evacuate as aftershocks continue to occur.

The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.