Indonesia: Nearly 10,000 evacuated after earthquakes

Illustration photo. (Source: Internet)

Jakarta  (VNA) - Uninterrupted earthquakes that rocked the West Halmahera region of Indonesia ’s North Maluku province from November 16 to 25 have resulted in the evacuation of 9,610 people from their homes.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, announced on November 27 that at least 611 earthquakes occurred, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people in 19 villages of West Halmahera district’s Jailolo sub-region. The disasters also damaged 934 houses and created 500 meter-long cracks in Galala village.

The Head of West Halmahera district has announced an emergency state for 14 days and deployed personnel to handle 75 emergency cases.

The regional disaster mitigation agency in West Halmahera has also distributed some aid to the evacuation posts.

The Indonesia government has set up a working team to join military and police forces in verifying losses caused by the earthquakes.

The national disaster mitigation agency has also asked people to be vigilant and calm while facing the tremors. The agency said the earthquakes in West Halmahera resulted in continuous shakes measured below 5 on the Richter scale.

Earlier on August 27, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake also hit North Maluku province.

Lying on the Pacific Ring of Fire , Indonesia regularly suffers from earthquakes and volcano eruptions.-VNA