Many of the residents who live in the southern coastal areas of the district had evacuated to higher ground, day-to-day chief of the Cilacap district natural disaster mitigation board (BPBD) Tri Komara Sidhy said early Saturday.
"They have evacuated to higher ground on their own. Based on information from the BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency), the earthquake had the potential to cause a tsunami in West Java, while Cilacap is on alert," he said.
The BPBD was still monitoring the condition in the field after the coastal areas had low tide when the the earthquake occurred, he said.
Separately, chief of the Pandanarang fishermen group Tarmuji said most of people living near Penyu Bay have fled to a number of areas.
"Most of the residents have evacuated. I, along with several fishermen is currently monitoring the coast. The seawater is normal and the coast does not experience low tide," he said at around 00.30 a.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, chief of the Cilacap district police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Djoko Julianto called on the residents to remain calm.
Reported by Sumarwoto
(U.SYS/B/S012/O001)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
