Indonesia: Over 162 Dead, 700 Injured After 5.6-Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Java

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said more than 2,200 houses had been damaged and more than 5,300 people were displaced.

At least 162 people were killed after an earthquake hit Indonesia's main island Java on Monday, reported AFP. The tremors of the 5.6 magnitude earthquake were also felt in the towns of south Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. The impact of the earthquake left 700 people injured.

West Java governor Ridwan Kamil said on Instagram that 162 people had been killed. 

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said more than 2,200 houses had been damaged and more than 5,300 people were displaced.

The US Geological Survey said the 5.6-magnitude quake was centered in the Cianjur region of West Java province at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Kamil said the death toll could rise since many buildings had collapsed, Reuters reported. "There are residents trapped in isolated places ... so we are under the assumption that the number of injured and deaths will rise with time," he said.

Herman Suherman, the head of Cianjur’s administration told broadcaster Metro TV, "Most of the injured had fractures from being trapped by the ruins of buildings."

The quake was strongly felt in the greater Jakarta area. High-rises in the capital swayed for more than three minutes and some were evacuated.

“The quake felt so strong. My colleagues and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor with emergency stairs,” said Vidi Primadhania, an employee in South Jakarta.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) had earlier reported the quake's magnitude as 5.4.

Several areas are left with power, disrupting communications. The quake also led to landslides, blocking evacuations in some areas.

Images from Indonesia showed hundreds of victims being treated in a hospital parking lot while some were under an emergency tent. In Cianjur, residents huddled together on mats in open fields or in tents with buildings around them reduced to rubble.

Kamil said 88 aftershocks were recorded while weather agency BMKG warned of more landslides in the event of heavy rain.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide. 

In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province.

A 6.2-magnitude quake in January last year had hit Sulawesi Island, killing more than 100 people and leaving thousands homeless. 

In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra island in northern Indonesia triggered a tsunami that hit 14 countries, killing 226,000 people.

(With Agency Inputs)