JAKARTA, Indonesia – A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the country’s Java island on Friday, prompting several building residents of the region to flee their homes in a panic to save their lives, said the meteorology agency.
“Very strong mag. 6.6 earthquake – Indian Ocean, 193 km southwest of Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, Jan 14, 2022 4:05 pm (GMT +7)
Magnitude: 6.6
Depth: 37.2 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 6.9291°S / 105.2513°E”,
“The earthquake hit 52 km (32 miles) off Banten province at a depth of 10 km, but did not trigger a tsunami warning”, reported the meteorology agency. It further said that the earthquake initially struck with 6.7-magnitude, but later the intensity reduced to 6.6.
As per the current reports, no casualties have been encountered due to the earthquake. However, the country’s authorities ask the citizens to stay indoors for some time following 5 strong aftershocks, of which one recorded 5.7 magnitudes.
MKG chief Dwikorita Karnawati described the situation to the live streaming media, saying, “From inside a house, it felt like a truck was passing through”.
A journalist from Reuters witnessed strong tremors of more than one minute in Jakarta.
Indonesia lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area extremely prone to earthquakes and explosions. In this region of the earth, different plates on the crust hit and cause a large number of volcanoes and earthquakes.
“I was very scared, suddenly there was a quake and it was so strong,” told a nanny, Ani, 38, who uses her first name only.
“When I felt it I directly grabbed my employer’s baby and ran downstairs.”
Another resident of a Banten apartment, Ade, 34 was on the building’s 15th floor when the earthquake hit Java Island.
“I was in a Zoom meeting when people all shouted ‘Earthquake!’,” Ade told the news outlet and refused to reveal his full name.
“The tremors were so strong and I was in shock, I couldn’t immediately get downstairs, I needed to steady my body.”
The powerful earthquake was also felt in West Java and Lampung, which reside close to Sumatra island.
Initially, the officials just got a brief idea of the damage due to the earthquake and no further reports had been shared with them. Wahidin Halim, Banten governor, while talking to Kompas TV said,“ four homes had been damaged, one Islamic school had collapsed, and cracks appeared at a mosque”.
