Officials fear rising death toll after Java quake

At least 15 people died in a powerful earthquake, which struck off Indonesia’s populous island of Java on 2 September, officials said.



“At least 15 people are confirmed dead. The death toll could be much higher. The area is quite remote and communication is limited,” Health Ministry crisis centre chief Rustam Pakaya told IRIN from Jakarta, the capital.



The mid-afternoon quake, recorded at a 7.0 magnitude by the US Geological Survey, also injured more than 100 people and triggered a local tsunami alert, which was later withdrawn.



The epicentre of the quake was 190km south of Jakarta and 95km south of Bandung city.



Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said dozens of houses had been flattened in districts in west Java. Buildings shook in Jakarta, sparking panic and evacuations, while thousands fled west Java.



Ignacio Leon-Garcia, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Indonesia, said the 15 casualties were in the sub-districts of Cianjur, Tasikmalaya and Sukabumi in west Java.



He said it was difficult to gauge the extent of the casualties and damage as night fell in Indonesia, but he expected those most affected would be villagers with poor access and communication facilities.



Relief efforts are being conducted by local government authorities, while an inter-agency mission will set out on 3 September to assess the damage, he said.



Indonesia is in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known for seismic activity.



An earthquake that triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami killed 168,000 people on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.



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