Fear and uncertainty
Villagers walk among rocks from landslide triggered by earthquake in West Java, Indonesia, 3 September 2009
In pictures: Indonesia earthquake
'The whole building was shaking'
About 5,000 people have sought shelter in makeshift tents. "They have taken refuge not only because their houses were ruined, but also because they fear there will be aftershocks," said local official Obar Sobarna.
The quake epicentre was about 115km off the south coast of Java, near Tasikmalaya.
Mudslides inundated homes, collapsed rooftops and damaged properties in Tasikmalaya, including the mayor's home and a mosque.
The tremors were felt in the capital, Jakarta, 200km to the north, where hundreds fled into the streets from offices and shops.
A local tsunami alert was issued but revoked shortly afterwards.
The quake was also felt 500km away from its epicentre in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and on the resort island of Bali.
FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE
More from BBC World Service
In December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.
Our correspondent says memories of the 2004 disaster are still fresh in the minds of people.
She says the Indonesian government has implemented an early warning system for tsunamis since then, but it is not fully operational yet.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic activity in the world.
Are you in or near Java? Did you feel the earthquake? Send us your stories using the form below.
Rescuers in Indonesia are searching the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors after a powerful earthquake, with the toll expected to rise.
At least 57 people are confirmed dead and thousands of homes ruined after the 7.0-magnitude quake hit on Wednesday.
More than 100 people are in hospital and dozens are still missing.
Damaged roads and poor weather are hampering efforts to get heavy rescue equipment to the worst-hit areas in the West Javan district of Cianjur.
Java map
At least 40 people remained missing in the village of Cikangkareng after a landslide buried a row of homes.
Police, military personnel and villagers are using their bare hands to try to reach survivors buried in the rubble.
"You can't see the roofs at all, everything is completely buried," Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said.
"The chances of anyone surviving is very, very small."
Desperate search
More than 18,000 homes across West Java province have been damaged, about 9,000 seriously, Mr Kardono said.
AT THE SCENE
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani
Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Cianjur
After the quake, villagers are too afraid to go back to their homes.
They are worried that aftershocks or more earthquakes could damage the flimsy structures, and they would rather brave the elements than risk the possibility of being trapped.
Darsa, 48, told me he was taking no chances and that he was willing to live in a tent for up to two weeks.
"I am very afraid," he said. "My home is very near where the landslide happened. And I'm worried there will be more landslides because of further aftershocks or earthquakes. I don't want to go back."
It's a refrain I hear often as I travel around this area.
Quake leaves villagers terrified
At least 110 people have been hospitalised with 10 in a critical condition, he added.
Indonesian television showed people being treated in temporary tents, while others were being attended to outside in hospital grounds.
Garut and Tasikmalaya districts, along with Cianjur, about 100km (62 miles) south of Jakarta, were among the worst hit.
Food and water packages have arrived in some districts but some remote villages are yet to receive any assistance, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from the area.
Rescue efforts are being hampered as several roads have been badly damaged and it has begun to rain. As a result, heavy digging equipment has not reached the hardest-hit villages, she adds.
Communications links to settlements on the south coast were broken by the quake, so the extent of damage and casualties is not yet known.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is visiting the area, told our reporter that the government had everything under control and international assistance was not yet necessary.
Dozens of people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Java.
Many properties collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya on the west of the island and thousands of people have been evacuated, officials said.
experiences
I was in my apartment on the 46th floor in central Jakarta, when the earthquake struck. The entire building was shaking and moving. Cracks were in various places of the wall. Many people left the building however few of them were panicking. As this is the second time a severe earthquake has hit my apartment, it's reason enough for me to move to another one.
Robert Van Buchem, Jakarta, Indonesia
I live in Bogor which is about 65km south of Jakarta and about 150 km from the epicentre of the quake. I can guarantee you that this one was real scary and frightening. I never knew how fast I could run! The shaking started very suddenly and it was very heavy. My flat screen dropped spontaneously from my desk. We all ran out to our open backyard next to the swimming pool where we stayed till it was over.
The walls shook in a wave pattern. I have never seen or heard anything like it. We were waiting for our house to collapse but fortunately it didn't. Our 12m swimming pool produced 1m high waves, splashing through the garden for about 20 seconds! The distress to your body and mind are tremendous. I felt like I was having a stroke with the ground moving so violently. The most frightening thing is you cannot control it. We were lucky... many others were not and we wish all the families in this tragedy all strength and our condolences.
Leo , Bogor, Indonesia
I work in Bumi Serpong Damai a south western suburb of Jakarta. I've been through a few Indonesian earthquakes now, but this one was different because it went on a long time. We believe the shaking in our area lasted for more than two full minutes. Thankfully damage was limited to some surface cracking on buildings and there are no injuries to report.
Christopher M. Patton, Tangerang, Indonesia
I was on the 30th floor of a hotel in Jakarta's CBD (central business district) when the earthquake struck. I have worked in Jakarta the last seven years and this is the strongest quake I have experienced. The building was swinging almost by a foot. We tried running but the quake was so violent we could hardly stand up. Fittings started falling from the ceiling. We finally managed to run down the emergency stairway all the way from 30th to ground floor. The Jakarta citizens were panicking because it was such a severe quake.
VJ Nambiar, Jakarta
I was in my office on the 22nd floor of a major office building in South Jakarta when the quake struck. There was much panic and screaming as around 5,000 occupants of the building all tried to get out at the same time. Things are calmer now, but most offices shut early this afternoon both because of the quake and to enable folks to get home to fulfil their religious obligations for Ramadan. The net result was traffic chaos with many major roads gridlocked.
Nick Fisher, Jakarta, Indonesia
This is the first time I've experienced an earthquake. We are on the 13th floor and the effects were very obvious. No shaking, just swaying back and forth, which was very unnerving. Our building was evacuated in an orderly fashion then we were let back in after about an hour. There doesn't seem to be any obvious damage to the building.
Steve McLoughlin, Jakarta, Indonesia
I was inside the Bank of Indonesia lift at around 1500. Suddenly I felt dizzy and we realized that it was earthquake. The lift swang back and forth, we were so scared. Thank God it stopped and opened at the 24th floor, we walked down the emergency stairs together safely even though we could still feel the shake. We noticed that the walls inside the emergency stairs tunnel had cracked in some places.
W. Widjayanti , Jakarta Indonesia
I was on the 22nd floor in the Jakarta CBD when the earthquake started. It was very sudden. We heard the glass windows cracking and the floor swaying heavily. I had to hold onto the desk. Most people just went into panic and started chanting prayers whilst running down the emergency stairs. Some were utterly confused and looking from guidance from the more senior staff. Luckily the security guards and the managers remained calm. They asked staff to stay in the centre of the building, as recommended by the building management.
Rihan, Jakarta
I was sitting in my apartment on the 3rd floor of a 33 storey building when I felt the room begin to move. It was when I heard concrete cracking and people screaming that I ran out and down the emergency stairs. The staircase was full of panic struck people running and crying, just trying to get out as fast as possible. I felt sorry for the old people and those with young kids.
After about an hour I returned to my apartment to grab some stuff and leave. I really don't wan't to stay there tonight especially as there are many new cracks that have appeared in the walls and ceiling. I very much doubt that the building was constructed to earthquake region standards, or that the Indonesian authorities will be sending engineers to check it out anytime soon.
David Lornie, Jakarta, Indonesia
FROM BBC NEWS
CIKANGKARENG, Indonesia (Reuters) - A huge landslide that engulfed a small village and buried more than 40 local inhabitants after this week's powerful quake in West Java has become a grisly local tourist attraction.
In Cikangkareng village about 60 miles south of Jakarta, villagers struggled to remove the mound of rocks and soil in their search for relatives and friends, while people from neighboring villages came by truck and motorbike to take photos of a tragedy that has dominated the television news.
The death toll from the 7.0 magnitude quake on Wednesday afternoon has climbed to 63, and could go higher, the authorities said, while several people are still missing under the landslide.
More than 25,000 people have been displaced in West Java since the earthquake, which hit just off the coast, and an estimated 86,000 homes were damaged, although no major power or industrial installations were hit.
"We just want to take a close look. So far, we only watched the damage on TV," said Usep, 25, who came by motorbike with his friend from a neighboring village.
Kokom Komariah, a housewife from Kadungmekar village, was one of a group of 15 people, including adults and children, who came on the back of a pick-up truck to see the famous landslide.
"My relatives and friends asked me to go with them to see the rubble. So I am here to witness the damage," she told Reuters.
A rescue team at the site has started to haul away the soil from the landslide, but because of the size and gradient, it has proved difficult to use earth-moving equipment at the site, and villagers have resorted to using just shovels and bamboo sticks to shift the rubble.
Reuters reporters saw many damaged houses, as well as tents and makeshift shelters on streets and in fields in West Java.
Indonesia's 17,000 islands are scattered along a belt of volcanic and seismic activity known as the Pacific "ring of fire," one of the most quake-prone places on earth.
More than 170,000 Indonesians were killed or listed as missing after a 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's Aceh province on Sumatra island triggered a tsunami in December 2004. A total of 230,000 people died in Indian Ocean countries.
Indonesia's seismology agency put the magnitude of Wednesday's quake at 7.3 with the epicenter 142 km (88 miles) southwest of Tasikmalaya, in West Java.
The quake was felt as far away as Surabaya, Indonesia's second city, 500 km (300 miles) northeast of Tasikmalaya, and on the resort island of Bali, about 700 km (420 miles) to the east.
DENPASAR - Gempa 7,3 Richter yang berpusat di 142 kilometer sebelah barat daya Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat, terasa hingga ke Pulau Bali. Sejauh ini, belum ada laporan korban maupun kerusakan.
Di Bali, kekuatan gempa yang dirasakan termasuk dalam skala II Modified Mercally Intensity (MMI). "Getarannya seperti halnya ketika ada truk yang melintas di depan kita," kata Kepala Bidang Data dan Informasi BMG Wilayah III Denpasa, Endro Tjahjono ketika dihubungi, Rabu (2/9/2009).
Endro menyatakan, getaran gempa di Bali lebih keciil dibandingkan sejumlah daerah di Jawa Tengah dan Jawa Timur. Namun demikian, hampir semua masyarakat di Bali merasakannya.
Di Denpasar, gempa sempat membuat panik karyawan yang bekerja di gedung bertingkat. Selain merasakan getaran cukup kuat sekira setengah menit, mereka juga melihat sejumlah benda ikut bergoyang seperti lampu, kaca, dan sejumlah peralatan kantor.
report from Ni Komang Malini, salah satu karyawan swasta di Denpasar.
Korban Meninggal Gempa Tasikmalaya Capai 65 Orang
Heryawan memaparkan korban meninggal akibat gempa yang berpusat 132 kilometer sebelah selatan Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat, mencapai 65 orang. "Tambahan korban ditemukan dari timbunan longsor di daerah Cianjur," ungkapnya dalam konferensi pers di Sekolah Menengah Pertama Negeri 1 Cibadak, Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, Sabtu (5/9).
Masih tersisa 30 orang lagi yang hilang di kabupaten Cianjur. "Selain Cianjur sudah final," jelas Ahmad.
Bagi korban meninggal, ia menyatakan, Departemen Sosial akan menyantuni sebesar Rp 2 juta rupiah. "Yang luka-luka dibebaskan biaya Rumah Sakit," tambah Ahmad.
Catatan Satuan Koordinasi Pelaksana Penanggulangan Gempa Tasikmalaya terdapat 2.542 rumah yang rusak total, 43.189 rumah rusak berat dan 95.782 rumah rusak ringan.
Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Bambang Sudibyo menghimbau kesadaran masyarakat untuk membantu korban gempa Tasikmalaya. "Semoga kesadaran yang sama juga muncul seperti bantuan gempa di Aceh dan Bantul," harapnya pada kesempatan yang sama.
Gempa di Tasikmalaya menyebabkan korban jiwa di Garut, Tasik dan Cianjur serta korban luka-luka dan hilang.Sampai saat ini tercatat di Cianjur 6 orang Tewas, Garut (tepatnya di Pameungpeuk) 3 Orang Tewas dan Tasikmalaya 9 Orang Tewas. Korban luka-luka sampai saat ini kurang lebih 27 Orang. Komunikasi belum bisa berjalan lancar karena sepertinya jaringan telepon terputus di beberapa daerah akibat Gempa Tasikmalaya
quote:Gempa Tektonik berkekuatan 7,3 skala richter yang terjadi di Tasikmalaya petang tadi, getarannya juga terasa di Kabupaten Garut. Puluhan rumah warga rusak bahkan beberapa di antaranya roboh.
Berdasarkan informasi yang dihimpun dari lapangan, Rabu (2/9/2009), sejumlah rumah warga yang mengalami kerusakan di antaranya terjadi di Kecamatan Pamengpeuk, Kecamatan Karang Pawitan, dan Kecamatan Garut Kota.
Bahkan, salah satu ruko penjual sepatu di Jalan Cileduk, Garut Kota, juga tak kuasa menahan getaran hingga akhirnya roboh. Belum diketahui adanya korban jiwa akibat kejadian ini, namun kabarnya, sejumlah warga mengalami luka akibat gempa bumi yang sempat berpotensi tsunami tersebut.
Hingga berita ini diturunkan, ratusan warga Garut masih berada diluar rumah. Mereka belum berani kembali ke dalam rumah karena khawatir gempa susulan terjadi. "Nanti saja kita kembali ke rumah kalau benar-benar sudah aman," ujar seorang warga.
Earthquake devastates Indonesia’s West Java province
By John Roberts
5 September 2009
The earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of West Java at about 2.55 p.m. local time on Wednesday. As of late Friday, 64 people had been confirmed killed, including a number of children, and at least 100 were still missing.
Fear gripped the country until it became clear that the quake had not triggered a tsunami. As many as 225,000 Indonesians lost their lives when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami engulfed Aceh and other regions of the archipelago. A comprehensive regional tsunami warning system has still not been completed.
Wednesday’s quake affected 12 districts of West Java, with the worst damage occurring in the regencies of Cianjur, Garut and Tasikmalaya. The Jakarta Post reported yesterday that the provincial administration has initially estimated that 429 people were injured and 126,130 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Over 2,000 houses, 981 schools, 15 Islamic boarding schools and 2,110 mosques and prayer halls have been reduced to rubble. Rescue workers have reported that 30,000 refugees are in need of shelter.
Many villagers in the affected areas whose homes were not destroyed are still afraid to return. Within 90 minutes there were two serious aftershocks, measuring 5.1 and 5.4. At least 70 smaller ones have been recorded since.
The quake was felt in Jakarta, more than 200 kilometres from the epicentre in the ocean off Tasikmalaya. There was widespread panic in the capital as high rise office complexes shook and had to be evacuated.
The toll of dead and injured was made worse by substandard construction. A World Vision representative, Ivan Tagor, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the lack of steel in walls and pillar supports was a factor in the collapse of many buildings.
A full assessment of the destruction and casualties is being hampered by damaged roads and local government and health care infrastructure and what many survivors have described as a slow response to the disaster in the relatively remote area.
In the village of Cirangkareng in Cianjur regency, many buildings were crushed by a massive landslide, including a poorly-built Playstation kiosk. According to the Jakarta Post, the rescue team at the village, made up of soldiers and local residents, had to work manually for over 24 hours as no heavy machinery arrived to assist.
A disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told the media: “The village is in a valley and the landslide buried a dozen houses about 20 metres under. You can’t see the roofs at all, everything is completely buried. The chance of anyone surviving is very, very small.”
Cianjur government head, Tjetjep Soleh, said the situation in Cirangkareng was probably made worse by illegal land clearing on the hillsides, which he admitted was forced on the villagers by poverty. With the wet season underway, more landslides can be predicted, as poor land management practices are widespread in impoverished rural areas.
As of late Friday, 24 bodies had been found in Cirangkareng and at least 57 people were still missing. Local farmer Robi Suryadi told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that one third of his extended family had been killed or missing. “We know four are dead,” he said. Suryadi estimated at least 30 village children under the age of 15 were among those unaccounted for. The bodies of five youth have been dug out from beneath the kiosk.
Voice of America reported yesterday that at least 500 houses were destroyed in the town Tasikmalaya, 115 kilometres from the epicentre of the quake, and one person was killed and 198 houses damaged in the town of Sukanagara.
In the village of Pangalengan at least seven people were killed and 80 injured. Cut off by damaged roads, villagers told ABC radio they feared that help would not reach them. One said: “We have no food… No aid has come so far. I hope the government will help us to renovate our houses here.”
There have been numerous images in the media of people left to fend for themselves. One housewife in the village of Lengkongiaya took one hour to crawl out from under the debris of her collapsed house. She told journalists: “I screamed for help but no one heard me… I had problems breathing and I couldn’t see anything because I was covered in dust.”
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared on Thursday that Indonesia did not need any foreign assistance in dealing with the crisis. Speaking near the devastation in Cirangkareng, he told journalists: “The government has managed to cope with the impacts of the quake using national resources.”
The resources being offered to the devastated communities, however, are a pittance. The West Java provincial government has promised just 90 billion rupiah ($US8.8 million) for relief aid, while Yudhoyono has pledged only an additional five billion rupiah of assistance from Jakarta.
Fear and uncertainty
Villagers walk among rocks from landslide triggered by earthquake in West Java, Indonesia, 3 September 2009
In pictures: Indonesia earthquake
'The whole building was shaking'
About 5,000 people have sought shelter in makeshift tents. "They have taken refuge not only because their houses were ruined, but also because they fear there will be aftershocks," said local official Obar Sobarna.
The quake epicentre was about 115km off the south coast of Java, near Tasikmalaya.
Mudslides inundated homes, collapsed rooftops and damaged properties in Tasikmalaya, including the mayor's home and a mosque.
The tremors were felt in the capital, Jakarta, 200km to the north, where hundreds fled into the streets from offices and shops.
A local tsunami alert was issued but revoked shortly afterwards.
The quake was also felt 500km away from its epicentre in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and on the resort island of Bali.
FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE
More from BBC World Service
In December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.
Our correspondent says memories of the 2004 disaster are still fresh in the minds of people.
She says the Indonesian government has implemented an early warning system for tsunamis since then, but it is not fully operational yet.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic activity in the world.
Are you in or near Java? Did you feel the earthquake? Send us your stories using the form below.
Rescuers in Indonesia are searching the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors after a powerful earthquake, with the toll expected to rise.
At least 57 people are confirmed dead and thousands of homes ruined after the 7.0-magnitude quake hit on Wednesday.
More than 100 people are in hospital and dozens are still missing.
Damaged roads and poor weather are hampering efforts to get heavy rescue equipment to the worst-hit areas in the West Javan district of Cianjur.
Java map
At least 40 people remained missing in the village of Cikangkareng after a landslide buried a row of homes.
Police, military personnel and villagers are using their bare hands to try to reach survivors buried in the rubble.
"You can't see the roofs at all, everything is completely buried," Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said.
"The chances of anyone surviving is very, very small."
Desperate search
More than 18,000 homes across West Java province have been damaged, about 9,000 seriously, Mr Kardono said.
AT THE SCENE
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani
Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Cianjur
After the quake, villagers are too afraid to go back to their homes.
They are worried that aftershocks or more earthquakes could damage the flimsy structures, and they would rather brave the elements than risk the possibility of being trapped.
Darsa, 48, told me he was taking no chances and that he was willing to live in a tent for up to two weeks.
"I am very afraid," he said. "My home is very near where the landslide happened. And I'm worried there will be more landslides because of further aftershocks or earthquakes. I don't want to go back."
It's a refrain I hear often as I travel around this area.
Quake leaves villagers terrified
At least 110 people have been hospitalised with 10 in a critical condition, he added.
Indonesian television showed people being treated in temporary tents, while others were being attended to outside in hospital grounds.
Garut and Tasikmalaya districts, along with Cianjur, about 100km (62 miles) south of Jakarta, were among the worst hit.
Food and water packages have arrived in some districts but some remote villages are yet to receive any assistance, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from the area.
Rescue efforts are being hampered as several roads have been badly damaged and it has begun to rain. As a result, heavy digging equipment has not reached the hardest-hit villages, she adds.
Communications links to settlements on the south coast were broken by the quake, so the extent of damage and casualties is not yet known.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is visiting the area, told our reporter that the government had everything under control and international assistance was not yet necessary.
Dozens of people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Java.
Many properties collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya on the west of the island and thousands of people have been evacuated, officials said.
experiences
I was in my apartment on the 46th floor in central Jakarta, when the earthquake struck. The entire building was shaking and moving. Cracks were in various places of the wall. Many people left the building however few of them were panicking. As this is the second time a severe earthquake has hit my apartment, it's reason enough for me to move to another one.
Robert Van Buchem, Jakarta, Indonesia
I live in Bogor which is about 65km south of Jakarta and about 150 km from the epicentre of the quake. I can guarantee you that this one was real scary and frightening. I never knew how fast I could run! The shaking started very suddenly and it was very heavy. My flat screen dropped spontaneously from my desk. We all ran out to our open backyard next to the swimming pool where we stayed till it was over.
The walls shook in a wave pattern. I have never seen or heard anything like it. We were waiting for our house to collapse but fortunately it didn't. Our 12m swimming pool produced 1m high waves, splashing through the garden for about 20 seconds! The distress to your body and mind are tremendous. I felt like I was having a stroke with the ground moving so violently. The most frightening thing is you cannot control it. We were lucky... many others were not and we wish all the families in this tragedy all strength and our condolences.
Leo , Bogor, Indonesia
I work in Bumi Serpong Damai a south western suburb of Jakarta. I've been through a few Indonesian earthquakes now, but this one was different because it went on a long time. We believe the shaking in our area lasted for more than two full minutes. Thankfully damage was limited to some surface cracking on buildings and there are no injuries to report.
Christopher M. Patton, Tangerang, Indonesia
I was on the 30th floor of a hotel in Jakarta's CBD (central business district) when the earthquake struck. I have worked in Jakarta the last seven years and this is the strongest quake I have experienced. The building was swinging almost by a foot. We tried running but the quake was so violent we could hardly stand up. Fittings started falling from the ceiling. We finally managed to run down the emergency stairway all the way from 30th to ground floor. The Jakarta citizens were panicking because it was such a severe quake.
VJ Nambiar, Jakarta
I was in my office on the 22nd floor of a major office building in South Jakarta when the quake struck. There was much panic and screaming as around 5,000 occupants of the building all tried to get out at the same time. Things are calmer now, but most offices shut early this afternoon both because of the quake and to enable folks to get home to fulfil their religious obligations for Ramadan. The net result was traffic chaos with many major roads gridlocked.
Nick Fisher, Jakarta, Indonesia
This is the first time I've experienced an earthquake. We are on the 13th floor and the effects were very obvious. No shaking, just swaying back and forth, which was very unnerving. Our building was evacuated in an orderly fashion then we were let back in after about an hour. There doesn't seem to be any obvious damage to the building.
Steve McLoughlin, Jakarta, Indonesia
I was inside the Bank of Indonesia lift at around 1500. Suddenly I felt dizzy and we realized that it was earthquake. The lift swang back and forth, we were so scared. Thank God it stopped and opened at the 24th floor, we walked down the emergency stairs together safely even though we could still feel the shake. We noticed that the walls inside the emergency stairs tunnel had cracked in some places.
W. Widjayanti , Jakarta Indonesia
I was on the 22nd floor in the Jakarta CBD when the earthquake started. It was very sudden. We heard the glass windows cracking and the floor swaying heavily. I had to hold onto the desk. Most people just went into panic and started chanting prayers whilst running down the emergency stairs. Some were utterly confused and looking from guidance from the more senior staff. Luckily the security guards and the managers remained calm. They asked staff to stay in the centre of the building, as recommended by the building management.
Rihan, Jakarta
I was sitting in my apartment on the 3rd floor of a 33 storey building when I felt the room begin to move. It was when I heard concrete cracking and people screaming that I ran out and down the emergency stairs. The staircase was full of panic struck people running and crying, just trying to get out as fast as possible. I felt sorry for the old people and those with young kids.
After about an hour I returned to my apartment to grab some stuff and leave. I really don't wan't to stay there tonight especially as there are many new cracks that have appeared in the walls and ceiling. I very much doubt that the building was constructed to earthquake region standards, or that the Indonesian authorities will be sending engineers to check it out anytime soon.
David Lornie, Jakarta, Indonesia
FROM BBC NEWS
CIKANGKARENG, Indonesia (Reuters) - A huge landslide that engulfed a small village and buried more than 40 local inhabitants after this week's powerful quake in West Java has become a grisly local tourist attraction.
In Cikangkareng village about 60 miles south of Jakarta, villagers struggled to remove the mound of rocks and soil in their search for relatives and friends, while people from neighboring villages came by truck and motorbike to take photos of a tragedy that has dominated the television news.
The death toll from the 7.0 magnitude quake on Wednesday afternoon has climbed to 63, and could go higher, the authorities said, while several people are still missing under the landslide.
More than 25,000 people have been displaced in West Java since the earthquake, which hit just off the coast, and an estimated 86,000 homes were damaged, although no major power or industrial installations were hit.
"We just want to take a close look. So far, we only watched the damage on TV," said Usep, 25, who came by motorbike with his friend from a neighboring village.
Kokom Komariah, a housewife from Kadungmekar village, was one of a group of 15 people, including adults and children, who came on the back of a pick-up truck to see the famous landslide.
"My relatives and friends asked me to go with them to see the rubble. So I am here to witness the damage," she told Reuters.
A rescue team at the site has started to haul away the soil from the landslide, but because of the size and gradient, it has proved difficult to use earth-moving equipment at the site, and villagers have resorted to using just shovels and bamboo sticks to shift the rubble.
Reuters reporters saw many damaged houses, as well as tents and makeshift shelters on streets and in fields in West Java.
Indonesia's 17,000 islands are scattered along a belt of volcanic and seismic activity known as the Pacific "ring of fire," one of the most quake-prone places on earth.
More than 170,000 Indonesians were killed or listed as missing after a 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's Aceh province on Sumatra island triggered a tsunami in December 2004. A total of 230,000 people died in Indian Ocean countries.
Indonesia's seismology agency put the magnitude of Wednesday's quake at 7.3 with the epicenter 142 km (88 miles) southwest of Tasikmalaya, in West Java.
The quake was felt as far away as Surabaya, Indonesia's second city, 500 km (300 miles) northeast of Tasikmalaya, and on the resort island of Bali, about 700 km (420 miles) to the east.
DENPASAR - Gempa 7,3 Richter yang berpusat di 142 kilometer sebelah barat daya Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat, terasa hingga ke Pulau Bali. Sejauh ini, belum ada laporan korban maupun kerusakan.
Di Bali, kekuatan gempa yang dirasakan termasuk dalam skala II Modified Mercally Intensity (MMI). "Getarannya seperti halnya ketika ada truk yang melintas di depan kita," kata Kepala Bidang Data dan Informasi BMG Wilayah III Denpasa, Endro Tjahjono ketika dihubungi, Rabu (2/9/2009).
Endro menyatakan, getaran gempa di Bali lebih keciil dibandingkan sejumlah daerah di Jawa Tengah dan Jawa Timur. Namun demikian, hampir semua masyarakat di Bali merasakannya.
Di Denpasar, gempa sempat membuat panik karyawan yang bekerja di gedung bertingkat. Selain merasakan getaran cukup kuat sekira setengah menit, mereka juga melihat sejumlah benda ikut bergoyang seperti lampu, kaca, dan sejumlah peralatan kantor.
report from Ni Komang Malini, salah satu karyawan swasta di Denpasar.
Korban Meninggal Gempa Tasikmalaya Capai 65 Orang
Heryawan memaparkan korban meninggal akibat gempa yang berpusat 132 kilometer sebelah selatan Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat, mencapai 65 orang. "Tambahan korban ditemukan dari timbunan longsor di daerah Cianjur," ungkapnya dalam konferensi pers di Sekolah Menengah Pertama Negeri 1 Cibadak, Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, Sabtu (5/9).
Masih tersisa 30 orang lagi yang hilang di kabupaten Cianjur. "Selain Cianjur sudah final," jelas Ahmad.
Bagi korban meninggal, ia menyatakan, Departemen Sosial akan menyantuni sebesar Rp 2 juta rupiah. "Yang luka-luka dibebaskan biaya Rumah Sakit," tambah Ahmad.
Catatan Satuan Koordinasi Pelaksana Penanggulangan Gempa Tasikmalaya terdapat 2.542 rumah yang rusak total, 43.189 rumah rusak berat dan 95.782 rumah rusak ringan.
Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Bambang Sudibyo menghimbau kesadaran masyarakat untuk membantu korban gempa Tasikmalaya. "Semoga kesadaran yang sama juga muncul seperti bantuan gempa di Aceh dan Bantul," harapnya pada kesempatan yang sama.
Gempa di Tasikmalaya menyebabkan korban jiwa di Garut, Tasik dan Cianjur serta korban luka-luka dan hilang.Sampai saat ini tercatat di Cianjur 6 orang Tewas, Garut (tepatnya di Pameungpeuk) 3 Orang Tewas dan Tasikmalaya 9 Orang Tewas. Korban luka-luka sampai saat ini kurang lebih 27 Orang. Komunikasi belum bisa berjalan lancar karena sepertinya jaringan telepon terputus di beberapa daerah akibat Gempa Tasikmalaya
quote:Gempa Tektonik berkekuatan 7,3 skala richter yang terjadi di Tasikmalaya petang tadi, getarannya juga terasa di Kabupaten Garut. Puluhan rumah warga rusak bahkan beberapa di antaranya roboh.
Berdasarkan informasi yang dihimpun dari lapangan, Rabu (2/9/2009), sejumlah rumah warga yang mengalami kerusakan di antaranya terjadi di Kecamatan Pamengpeuk, Kecamatan Karang Pawitan, dan Kecamatan Garut Kota.
Bahkan, salah satu ruko penjual sepatu di Jalan Cileduk, Garut Kota, juga tak kuasa menahan getaran hingga akhirnya roboh. Belum diketahui adanya korban jiwa akibat kejadian ini, namun kabarnya, sejumlah warga mengalami luka akibat gempa bumi yang sempat berpotensi tsunami tersebut.
Hingga berita ini diturunkan, ratusan warga Garut masih berada diluar rumah. Mereka belum berani kembali ke dalam rumah karena khawatir gempa susulan terjadi. "Nanti saja kita kembali ke rumah kalau benar-benar sudah aman," ujar seorang warga.
Earthquake devastates Indonesia’s West Java province
By John Roberts
5 September 2009
The earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of West Java at about 2.55 p.m. local time on Wednesday. As of late Friday, 64 people had been confirmed killed, including a number of children, and at least 100 were still missing.
Fear gripped the country until it became clear that the quake had not triggered a tsunami. As many as 225,000 Indonesians lost their lives when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami engulfed Aceh and other regions of the archipelago. A comprehensive regional tsunami warning system has still not been completed.
Wednesday’s quake affected 12 districts of West Java, with the worst damage occurring in the regencies of Cianjur, Garut and Tasikmalaya. The Jakarta Post reported yesterday that the provincial administration has initially estimated that 429 people were injured and 126,130 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Over 2,000 houses, 981 schools, 15 Islamic boarding schools and 2,110 mosques and prayer halls have been reduced to rubble. Rescue workers have reported that 30,000 refugees are in need of shelter.
Many villagers in the affected areas whose homes were not destroyed are still afraid to return. Within 90 minutes there were two serious aftershocks, measuring 5.1 and 5.4. At least 70 smaller ones have been recorded since.
The quake was felt in Jakarta, more than 200 kilometres from the epicentre in the ocean off Tasikmalaya. There was widespread panic in the capital as high rise office complexes shook and had to be evacuated.
The toll of dead and injured was made worse by substandard construction. A World Vision representative, Ivan Tagor, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the lack of steel in walls and pillar supports was a factor in the collapse of many buildings.
A full assessment of the destruction and casualties is being hampered by damaged roads and local government and health care infrastructure and what many survivors have described as a slow response to the disaster in the relatively remote area.
In the village of Cirangkareng in Cianjur regency, many buildings were crushed by a massive landslide, including a poorly-built Playstation kiosk. According to the Jakarta Post, the rescue team at the village, made up of soldiers and local residents, had to work manually for over 24 hours as no heavy machinery arrived to assist.
A disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told the media: “The village is in a valley and the landslide buried a dozen houses about 20 metres under. You can’t see the roofs at all, everything is completely buried. The chance of anyone surviving is very, very small.”
Cianjur government head, Tjetjep Soleh, said the situation in Cirangkareng was probably made worse by illegal land clearing on the hillsides, which he admitted was forced on the villagers by poverty. With the wet season underway, more landslides can be predicted, as poor land management practices are widespread in impoverished rural areas.
As of late Friday, 24 bodies had been found in Cirangkareng and at least 57 people were still missing. Local farmer Robi Suryadi told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that one third of his extended family had been killed or missing. “We know four are dead,” he said. Suryadi estimated at least 30 village children under the age of 15 were among those unaccounted for. The bodies of five youth have been dug out from beneath the kiosk.
Voice of America reported yesterday that at least 500 houses were destroyed in the town Tasikmalaya, 115 kilometres from the epicentre of the quake, and one person was killed and 198 houses damaged in the town of Sukanagara.
In the village of Pangalengan at least seven people were killed and 80 injured. Cut off by damaged roads, villagers told ABC radio they feared that help would not reach them. One said: “We have no food… No aid has come so far. I hope the government will help us to renovate our houses here.”
There have been numerous images in the media of people left to fend for themselves. One housewife in the village of Lengkongiaya took one hour to crawl out from under the debris of her collapsed house. She told journalists: “I screamed for help but no one heard me… I had problems breathing and I couldn’t see anything because I was covered in dust.”
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared on Thursday that Indonesia did not need any foreign assistance in dealing with the crisis. Speaking near the devastation in Cirangkareng, he told journalists: “The government has managed to cope with the impacts of the quake using national resources.”
The resources being offered to the devastated communities, however, are a pittance. The West Java provincial government has promised just 90 billion rupiah ($US8.8 million) for relief aid, while Yudhoyono has pledged only an additional five billion rupiah of assistance from Jakarta.
