Grieving over Destruction Caused by Quake in Cianjur

The shallow earthquake in Cianjur, West Java, resulted in severe damage to buildings and casualties due to collapsed structures.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Earthquake victims were treated in the yard of Sayang Hospital, Cianjur, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Monday (21/11/2022). The earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale affected a number of places in the Cianjur Regency area. This earthquake caused at least 162 people died and hundreds were injured.

CIANJUR, KOMPAS – A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 162 people, left hundreds injured and thousands displaced in Cianjur regency, West Java, on Monday (21/11/2022) at 1:21 p.m. The shallow epicenter of the quake resulted in the destruction of buildings and casualties.

Most of the victims who died were injured in the head and legs, crushed by collapsed buildings. The dead and injured were taken to the Sayang Regional General Hospital and the Cimacan Hospital.

As of Monday 8:00 p.m., the Cianjur Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported that 162 people died, 326 were injured and 13,784 people had taken refuge across 14 evacuation shelters. A total of 2.345 houses were damaged.

The earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers, damaged houses and public facilities in several areas. In Cianjur, the quake damaged 2,345 houses, four health facilities, eight government buildings, 10 education facilities, three places of worship, one shop, one cafe and two bridges.

Data on the impact of the earthquake is still being collected, including in the districts of Bandung, Garut, the Bogor municipality, the Bekasi municipality and the Sukabumi municipality. In Sukabumi, 127 houses, 4 educational facilities and 1 worship facility were damaged. As many as 11 houses in Bogor and 1 house in West Bandung were also reportedly damaged by the earthquake.

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West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, at Sayang Hospital, said there were residents still trapped at several points. Because residents were still fearful, certain activities, including patient care, were done in an outdoor area.

To deal with the disaster, continued Kamil, his party coordinated with regional officials, including the police in each village, to provide real-time information on their respective areas. Heavy equipment was also deployed to clear roads that were blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake.

“Hospitals around Cianjur have been prepared. I also asked a team from Hasan Sadikin Hospital to remain alert if the health facilities here [in Cianjur] are not enough. There will be no resident that is not treated medically,” said Kamil.

Until last night at 11 p.m., some residents’ houses in Cianjur were still dark. Many people placed mats and mattresses on their terraces, while ambulances continued to pass, carrying earthquake victims to Sayang Hospital.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Dozens of earthquake victims being treated in the hallways of Sayang Hospital, Cianjur, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Monday (21/11/2022).

Aid

Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Cianjur branch chairman Ronny Hadyanto said at least 200 general practitioners and specialists were involved in treating residents affected by the earthquake. An emergency hospital was also set up at the Cianjur regency pavilion.

IDI chairman M. Adib Khumaidi stated that he would immediately meet the needs of surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and provide supporting facilities. Field hospitals and referral hospitals have also been prepared.

The roads were not cut off due to structural damage but because of fallen trees and landslides.

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) also provided aid. PMI central chairman Jusuf Kalla dispatched his members to the field to help earthquake victims in Cianjur. The PMI also collaborated with the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) and other volunteers for emergency response and post-earthquake rehabilitation.

The Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry also deployed personnel and heavy equipment to deal with landslides on the Cianjur-Puncak national road triggered by the earthquake in Cianjur.

“Reports currently say that there are two points where severe landslides occurred. The roads were not cut off due to structural damage but because of fallen trees and landslides,” said PUPR Ministry spokesperson Endra S. Atmawidjaja.

RIVALDO ARNOLD BELEKUBUN

One of the earthquake locations was in Cibeureum Village, Cugenang, Cianjur, West Java, Monday (21/11/2022). According to Ihya, Head of RT 03 RW 03 Cibeureum Village, at least 90 percent of the villagers' houses were damaged by the earthquake.

Earthquake damage

According to Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Dwikorita Karnawati, the epicenter of the earthquake was at the coordinates 6.84 south latitude and 107.05 east longitude. This location is about 10 km southwest of Cianjur and 15 km northeast of the Sukabumi municipality.

The earthquake hypocenter was at a depth of about 10 km, which is classified as shallow. Aftershocks occurred 62 times up to 7 p.m., with a strength of below 5 magnitude.

BMKG earthquake and tsunami center head Daryono said that the earthquake was suspected to have originated from the Cimandiri land fault zone. The results of the analysis of the source mechanism indicate that the quake had a shear movement mechanism.

“Because the source was shallow, the impact of the shaking became strong and destructive. Another feature is that earthquakes from shallow crust are usually followed by many aftershocks,” he said.

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The BNPB will continue to record the number of victims and damage caused by the earthquake. “The BNPB will deploy a helicopter to facilitate handling of disaster emergencies, evacuation and distribution of logistics to isolated locations,” said BNPB head Suharyanto.

Daryono explained that the Sukabumi, Cianjur, Purwakarta, Lembang and Bandung areas are all complex tectonic areas. There are active earthquake lines in those areas, namely the Cimandiri and Lembang faults as well as a number of minor faults. “This tectonic complexity has the potential to trigger shallow crustal earthquakes. It is a permanent earthquake prone area,” he said.

BMKG

Cianjur earthquake

Several damaging earthquakes have also occurred in the Sukabumi-Cianjur zone, which are thought to have been caused by activity at the Cimandiri fault. “In 1844 and 1910, there were strong earthquakes that damaged Cianjur and its surroundings. On 21 January 1912, there was also an earthquake,” he said.

Daryono added that on 2 Nov. 1968 and 10 Feb. 1982, there were 5.4- and 5.5-magnitude earthquakes respectively, which had caused a lot of damage and casualties. “On 12 July 2000, there was a 5.1-magnitude earthquake that resulted in more than 1,900 severely damaged homes,” he said.

A seismologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Irwan Meilano, said the Cimandiri fault zone could trigger an earthquake measuring up to 7.4 magnitude. “Historical records indicate that a major earthquake in the 1800s that originated in this area caused damage to Batavia,” he said.

This amplification causes a large scale of damage even though the strength of the earthquake is relatively small,

According to Irwan, the vulnerability of the West Java region to the impact of earthquakes is also due to its geomorphological conditions in the form of valleys and hills, which are prone to landslides if shocks occur. Additionally, soil layers of thick volcanic sediments can also potentially amplify these shocks.

“This amplification causes a large scale of damage even though the strength of the earthquake is relatively small,” he said. (CHE/RTG/IKI/GIO/AIK/HLN/Z03)

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.