A strong earthquake on Indonesia’s main island of Java killed at least eight people, including a woman whose motorcycle was hit by falling rocks, and damaged more than 1,300 buildings, officials said yesterday. It did not trigger a tsunami.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the island’s southern coast at 2pm on Saturday.
It was centered 45km south of Sumberpucung town in East Java province, at a depth of 82km.
Photo: AFP
Indonesian President Joko Widodo yesterday ordered swift rescue and relief efforts to help the victims.
Two shelters for the displaced have been set up in the town of Lumajang.
All of the casualties were reported in 15 districts and cities in East Java.
“I have ordered ... immediate emergency response to search and find victims under the rubble and to treat the wounded,” Widodo said in broadcast remarks.
Most industrial areas in East Java are located on the northern side of the island.
Rahmat Triyono, who heads the earthquake and tsunami center at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said the undersea quake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.
Still, he urged people to stay away from slopes of soil or rocks that have the potential to form a landslide.
The quake caused falling rocks to kill a woman on a motorcycle and badly injured her husband in East Java’s Lumajang District, Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati said.
About 1,189 homes and 150 public facilities, including schools, hospitals and government offices, were damaged, he said.
Rescuers retrieved four bodies from the rubble in Lumajang’s Kali Uling village.
Three people were also confirmed killed by the quake in Malang District.
Television reports showed people running in panic from malls and buildings in several cities in East Java province.
This was the second deadly disaster to hit Indonesia last week, after Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused a severe downpour on Sunday last week that killed at least 174 people and left 48 still missing in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Additional reporting by Reuters
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS