Indonesian Quake…President Orders Java Rescue Efforts, Death Toll Rises to 8

On Sunday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered swift rescue and relief efforts, as the earthquake death toll rose to eight people.

“I have ordered ... immediate emergency response to search and find victims under the rubble and to treat the wounded,” the president, known by Jokowi, stated in broadcast remarks.

Furthermore, Jokowi noted that as Indonesia straddles the volcanic “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific, natural disasters such as earthquakes may occur anytime, stressing that Indonesians should always be prepared.

In the same vein, the disaster agency BNPB revealed that three other people were badly injured in the magnitude-5.9 quake and more than 1,180 buildings were seriously damaged.

The casualties were reported in 15 districts and cities in East Java, the nearest province to the epicentre of the quake, that struck in the Indian Ocean.

Dozens of homes have been damaged across the region, and rescuers have retrieved two bodies from the rubble of collapsed homes in the district’s Kali Uling village, according to domestic authorities.

Last week, heavy rains triggered landslide and flash floods in eastern Indonesia, killing 44 people and displaced thousands.

“There are 44 people dead with nine injured” in East Flores Regency, and “many (…) are still under the mud,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati told AFP.