Indonesia Records 434 Earthquakes, 252 Landslides Between Jan-Feb: Gov't
Jakarta. Indonesia has recorded more than 400 earthquakes between January and February this year, including the 6.1 Richter-scale earthquake that struck off the coast of Banten in the most western part of Java, an official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said.
"We are reporting that a total of 434 earthquakes have struck between January and February," head of the MEMR’s Geological Agency, Rudy Suhendar, told reporters at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (05/03).
One of those earthquakes, which struck off the coast of Banten, caused tremors that were felt across cities in the western part of the densely-populated island, including in the capital.
Rudy added that most of the earthquakes had a magnitude between 4 and 4.9 on the Richter scale.
Nearly 2,900 buildings and houses in various areas of Indonesia were reportedly damaged from the earthquakes.
The agency also recorded 252 landslides within the same period, which Rudy said took place in 25 districts, most of them in Java.
"A total of 555 houses and buildings were damaged, and 54 people were killed by these landslides," Rudy said.
In addition, volcanic activity, mostly from Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Mount Agung in Bali, Mount Dukono and Mount Ibu in North Maluku, has resulted in the evacuation of more than 56,000 people, the agency said.
Tags: Keywords: