A new earthquake in Indonesia has left at least four dead and more than a thousand evacuated

At least four people died, four others were injured and more than a thousand people had to be displaced by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that shook the sea Friday night in the strait separating the Indonesian islands from Java and Sumatra, reported today sources. the officers

One of the four victims is a woman from the southeastern municipality of Lebak, Java, who panicked and suffered a heart attack. Another 95-year-old woman died of fatigue during the evacuation, said the president. National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

The earthquake damaged the structure of more than 200 buildings and the municipality of Pandeglang, the closest to the epicenter, was the hardest hit, with 81 homes and a damaged mosque, EFE said.

More on this topic

The earthquake caused scenes of panic in the capital, Jakarta, about 250 kilometers northeast, as well as damage to buildings in the city of Bandung, more than 300 kilometers from the epicenter and in the west of Java.

Authorities initially launched a tsunami warning that pushed people from different parts of the Java and Sumatra coasts, Indonesia's most populous, to migrate to elevated areas although it was disabled two hours later.

More on this topic

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which initially estimated the magnitude at 6.8, located the epicenter of the earthquake about 90 km southwest of Pandeglang and its hypocentre at 42 km deep.

Indonesia is located on the "Pacific Fire Belt", an area of ​​high seismic and volcanic activity with 127 active volcanoes, in which approximately 7,000 earthquakes are recorded each year, usually moderate.

More on this topic

In September 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook the island of Celebes and caused a tsunami that caused more than 2,000 deaths and displaced 200,000 people in the cities of Palu and Donggala.