The most affected areas are Kajai Village in Talamau Sub-district and Kinali Village in Kinali Sub-district...Simpang Empat, W Sumatra (ANTARA) - West Pasaman District Head Hamsuardi stated that hundreds of houses had collapsed due to the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that rattled the district on Friday at 8:39 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).
"The most affected areas are Kajai Village in Talamau Sub-district and Kinali Village in Kinali Sub-district, West Pasaman District, West Sumatra Province," Hamsuardi noted when contacted from here on Friday.
Hamsuardi remarked that the deputy head, regional secretary, as well as personnel from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of West Pasaman District were heading to the most affected areas to facilitate evacuation and make further mitigation attempts.
Meanwhile, the district head was headed to the Sikabau area to directly review the conditions of the region.
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Hamsuardi has appealed to the public to remain vigilant owing to the existing likelihood of aftershocks.
"People are urged to remain calm and to help one another in this difficult situation," he remarked.
Hamsuardi also urged the residents to exit their buildings at the earliest in the event of aftershocks to avoid any casualties due to the collapsed buildings.
Currently, the district government has established a command post in Kajai Village as one of the areas that bore the maximum brunt of the disaster.
In addition to the resident's houses, several public facilities, such as the elementary school and mosque, were damaged by the earthquake.
The shocks also damaged the Balerong meeting room at the official residence of the head of West Pasaman District.
Furthermore, Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Suharyanto noted that two people lost their lives while 20 people were injured due to the earthquake according to the recent data as of 12:37 p.m. WIB.
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Meanwhile, dozens of earthquake victims in Kajai Village with injuries ranging from mild to also cases of broken bones were treated at the Simpang Empat Yarsi Hospital.
Director of the hospital, Meri Erliza, stated that the hospital was overwhelmed due to the large number of victims, while the number of treatment rooms and medical staff were limited.
However, Erliza ensured that the hospital would strive to handle the victims optimally.
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Translator: Altas Maulana, Uyu Liman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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