Death toll after Indonesia’s earthquake has risen to 30
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The death toll from a strong earthquake in Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku has risen to 30 people, the national disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) said on Sunday, and hundreds of thousands of people remain in evacuation shelters.
The 6.5 magnitude quake hit early on Thursday, damaging hundreds of houses and dozens of public facilities and infrastructure, including the main bridge in the city of Ambon.
Officials on Thursday had put the death toll at 20 people. Many were killed by falling rubble.
More than 150 people were injured, BNBP spokesman Agus Wibowo said in a statement on Sunday, and over 200,000 remain in shelters.
epa07872663 A handout photo made available by Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) shows collapsed houses a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Maluku islands, Ambon, Indonesia, 27 September 2019. According to BNPB’s reports, the death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit the Maluku islands on 26 September has risen to 23 people, and the earthquake caused thousands of people to flee their homes. EPA-EFE/BNPB / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
epa07872662 A handout photo made available by Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) shows collapsed houses a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Maluku islands, Ambon, Indonesia, 27 September 2019. According to BNPB’s reports, the death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit the Maluku islands on 26 September has risen to 23 people, and the earthquake caused thousands of people to flee their homes. EPA-EFE/BNPB / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
epa07872661 A handout photo made available by Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) shows residents carring a motorbike out of a collapsed houses a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Maluku islands, Ambon, Indonesia, 27 September 2019. According to BNPB’s reports, the death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit the Maluku islands on 26 September has risen to 23 people, and the earthquake caused thousands of people to flee their homes. EPA-EFE/BNPB / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
epa07872660 A handout photo made available by Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) shows collapsed houses a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Maluku islands, Ambon, Indonesia, 27 September 2019. According to BNPB’s reports, the death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit the Maluku islands on 26 September has risen to 23 people, and the earthquake caused thousands of people to flee their homes. EPA-EFE/BNPB / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
epa07869936 Hundreds of residents stay outside buildings shortly after an earthquake in Ambon, Maluku province, Indonesia, 26 September 2019. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the remote Seram island, Maluku, triggering panic. There were no immediate reports of structural damage or casualties, and no tsunami warning was issued. EPA-EFE/IDHAM
epa07869934 An Indonesian man escorts his children as they walk out of a building shortly after an earthquake in Ambon, Maluku province, Indonesia, 26 September 2019. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the remote Seram island, Maluku, triggering panic. There were no immediate reports of structural damage or casualties, and no tsunami warning was issued. EPA-EFE/IDHAM
epa07754533 A resident walks near a damaged house after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the area, in Mandalawangi, Banten province, Indonesia, 03 August 2019. More than a hundred houses were damaged after the strong earthquake hit the West Coast of Java island on 02 August. EPA-EFE/RAHARDIAN
Those whose houses were destroyed have set up tents as shelters in near hospitals or school yards.
People living near the ocean have evacuated to higher ground following the quake, fearing a tsunami, despite authorities have ruled out the possibility of a giant wave.
Indonesia, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, is often hit by deadly earthquakes and tsunamis.
The city of Palu, on the island of Sulawesi west of Maluku, was devastated by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and a powerful tsunami it triggered last September, killing more than 4,000 people.
