A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Papua on Thursday claimed lives of four people and damaged many buildings, the country’s disaster agency said. Agency’s head Asep Khalid in a statement said that the victims were at a cafe when the quake hit, causing the building to collapse, Reuters reported.
Putri Kurita, who was having lunch at another restaurant bottled for an exit fearing that the building would collapse. She said, “I was having lunch when things suddenly swayed, he jold got much stronger.”
The quake in the easternmost region of Papua was felt strongly for two to three seconds, causing panic among people.
According to the country’s geophysics agency BMKG, the epicentre of the earthquake was one kilometre from Jayapura, the capital of Papua province at a depth of 10 km.
Gempa berkekuatan magnitudo (M) 5,4 mengguncang Kota Jayapura, Papua. Sejumlah bangunan dilaporkan mengalami kerusakan dan hanyut ke laut.
“Menurut informasi yang kami terima benar ada beberapa bangunan yang rusak di Kota Jayapura. Sebuah kafe di Ruko Dok II Jayapura rubuh dan pic.twitter.com/lKPdNdjquz
— Kodok Ijo 🐸 (@Midjan_La_2) February 9, 2023
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded the quake at a magnitude of 5.5.
This quake is one of more than a thousand recorded in the area since the beginning of this year, BMKG said.
Agency’s chief Dwikorita Karnawati said, “Since Jan 2, 2023, there have been 1,079 quakes around Jayapura, with about 132 felt by it’s residents.”
Several unverified footages of the quake were shared on social media, where a harbourside building collapsed into the sea and light damage to a mall and hospital in the city.
A shallow magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred in the Indonesian province of Papua today. Early reports coming out says there is at least some damage to various infrastructure.
The video below from the city of Jayapura, seems to show a building having collapsed in the sea. pic.twitter.com/z8dkF0fNUN
— Øystein L.A. (@oysteinvolcano) February 9, 2023
Indonesia’s meteorological agency has warned of potential aftershocks.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where the tectonic plates are likely to collide, AFP reported.
