Mamuju in Total Darkness

ANTARA FOTO/AKBAR TADO

Residents take a close look on Friday (15/1/2021) at the West Sulawesi Governor\'s Office that collapsed in the earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi. Officials of the West Sulawesi office of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) are still assessing the number of casualties and damaged buildings as a result of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

At least 42 people died when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook Mamuju and Majene, West Sulawesi. The survivors endured amidst the pouring rain and dark night.

MAMUJU, KOMPAS — At least 42 people died in Mamuju and Majene regencies, West Sulawesi, due to a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, which was centered about 6 kilometers northeast of Majene with a depth of 10 km, in the early morning of Friday (15/1/2021). In the rain and darkness of the night, earthquake survivors in Mamuju slept in emergency tents, on vehicles and on terraces of the houses.

Such a situation could be seen on the Mamuju road to Palu, Central Sulawesi, or to Majene, on Friday at 11:00 p.m. Central Indonesia Time. Most of Mamuju city was in total darkness when the rain continued to flush. A number of houses were seen to be abandoned by their occupants.

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Most of the residents chose to spend the night in the tents they had erected on the terraces of their houses or in vehicles parked on the side of the road.

"We need a public kitchen to meet our food and drinking needs," said Andi Rahman, 24, who with his family took refuge on the side of the road out of Mamuju to Majene.

KOMPAS/VIDELIS JEMALI

Excavators are used to try to rescue health workers buried under a six-story hospital that collapsed because of the earthquake on Thursday (14/1/2021). Two people were reportedly buried under the rubble of the building; one of them was evacuated as of Friday afternoon.

The Makassar Region IV of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded that there were at least 19 aftershocks after the earthquake in the early hours of Friday. Meanwhile, after the first earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 hit on Thursday (14/1) afternoon, 28 aftershocks occurred until night.

Many buildings in Mamuju and Majene were damaged and collapsed due to the earthquake. The damaged buildings included the Office of the Governor of West Sulawesi, the Mitra Manakarra Hospital and the Mamuju Regional Hospital in Mamuju. Maleo Hotel and residents\' houses were also damaged. The search and rescue (SAR) team continued to try to evacuate victims trapped in wreckages of the buildings.

It seemed as if he was thrown during the earthquake. "We all ran to a slightly higher place

Ady, 36, a resident of Mamuju, said the shocks of the earthquake on Friday morning were very strong. It seemed as if he was thrown during the earthquake. "We all ran to a slightly higher place," he said.

Residents in Majene also felt a strong tremor. "The earthquake was huge, we all came out of the houses," said Saiful Alam, 50, a resident of Totoli village, Banggae district, Majene.

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Takbir Tubo, a resident of Malunda, Majene, said Malunda residents fled to a number of locations. "We do not yet know the number of buried victims because after the earthquake on Thursday afternoon many residents fled. After the earthquake on Friday morning, the residents left Malunda,” said Takbir.

President\'s order

From the Presidential Palace complex in Bogor, West Java, President Joko Widodo ordered Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Lt. Gen. Doni Monardo to take emergency response steps. Risma and Doni also left for West Sulawesi. The Social Affairs Ministry sent aid worth Rp 1.7 billion using the Air Force Hercules C-130 aircraft from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, for emergency response needs in West Sulawesi.

KOMPAS/VIDELIS JEMALI

Earthquake survivors who have left their homes in their vehicles take refuge on higher ground in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, amid darkness and heavy rain on Thursday (14/1/2021).

The President also ordered that the victims be given the best possible care. As for the public, the President asked them to remain calm and always follow the instructions of officers in the field. "I, on behalf of the government and the Indonesian people, express my deep sorrow for the victims who died," said the President.

The SAR teams immediately evacuated the victims who were trapped in the rubble of the buildings.

Separately, the head of the National Search and Relief Agency, Air Marshal (Ret.) Bagus Puruhito, said the SAR teams from Makassar, South Sulawesi and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, were deployed to help evacuate victims in Majene and Mamuju. "The SAR teams immediately evacuated the victims who were trapped in the rubble of the buildings," said Bagus at JICT II Port Pier, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The Muhammadiyah organization through the Muhammadiyah Disaster Mitigation Center (MDMC) also moved quickly to respond to the earthquake that hit West Sulawesi. The emergency response division coordinator of the MDMC of the central board of Muhammadiyah, Indrayanto, said West Sulawesi MDMC volunteers were continuing to try to evacuate residents who were still trapped in collapsed buildings.

AFP/HANDOUT / NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE AGENCY

Rescuers of Indonesia\'s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) look for survivors in a collapsed building in Mamuju on Jan. 15, 2021, after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Sulawesi Island.

Based on the BMKG report, the epicenter of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake in the early hours of Friday was adjacent to the 5.9-magnitude earthquake on Thursday afternoon. "Considering the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, both the first and second significant earthquakes are shallow crustal earthquakes caused by the active Mamuju-Majene Thrust fault activity," said the BMKG’s head of earthquake and tsunami mitigation Daryono.

Anticipating the aftershocks

An earthquake researcher of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Geotechnology Research Center, Rahma Hanifa, said that in the 2017 Indonesian Earthquake Source Map the active Mamuju-Majene fault had been mapped to have the potential for an earthquake with a maximum magnitude of 7 with a sliding rate of about 2 millimeters per year. "It could be that there are bigger ones that are still waiting even though we don\'t know when the release will be," she said.

BMKG data show that the epicenter of the Majene-Mamuju earthquake on Jan. 14-15, 2021, was very close to the source of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake with a depth of 13 km, which triggered the Feb. 23, 1969 tsunami.

ANTARA/ AKBAR TADO

Officers evacuate a man who was buried under the Mitra Manakarra hospital that collapsed in an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, on Thursday (15/1/2021). Five people were evacuated from the rubble, but only two of them have survived, while three others have died in the hospital, as the search for victims is ongoing.

Aid for earthquake victims in West Sulawesi began to be distributed to the affected areas. Some of the logistics in the form of food, medicine and other assistance were sent through Sultan Hasanuddin Airport, Makassar, and by sea. As of Friday evening, the affected residents were still evacuating to safer areas for fear of aftershocks.

Commander of the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base Air Commodore Haris Haryanto said a Boeing 737 aircraft flew with the aid and monitored the impact of the disaster from the air. "As instructed by the TNI commander and the Air Force chief of staff," he said, referring to the Indonesian Military.

South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah together with South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Merdisyam and chief of Military Command XIV/Hasanuddin Maj. Gen. Andi Sumangerukka also monitored the affected areas by helicopter.

ANTARA/SIGID KURNIAWAN

Military personnel load supplies for victims of the Majene earthquake into an Air Force Hercules A 1321 Airplane at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta on Friday (15/1/2021). The Indonesian Air Force has prepared several vehicles to transport TNI soldiers to assist in the SAR operation, disaster evacuation and distribution of assistance to communities affected by the earthquake in West Sulawesi.

State-owned electricity company PLN was also trying to restore the electricity network. Of the 872 substations affected, 463 substations were successfully normalized. "The team is working on them. Officers from several regions have also joined forces to assist in the recovery,” said the general manager of PLN’s Main Unit for South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and West Sulawesi, Awaluddin Hafid. (VDL/REN/JAL/TAM/CIP/AIK/NTA/ERK)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).