It is a part of the disaster mitigation attempt, thus we should know (first) how the condition there is (in the two sub-districts).
Garut, W Java (ANTARA) - A team from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) inspected the areas affected by an earthquake triggered by the Garsela Fault to determine the potential for more quakes.

"There is one (team) from PVMBG, currently they are going to the location to check the condition of the land there," Head of the Garut District Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Satria Budi informed here on Friday.

He said that the PVMBG team is scheduled to inspect the areas in Samarang and Pasirwangi Sub-districts, Garut District, West Java Province, which were affected by the 4.3-magnitude (M) earthquake on Wednesday (February 1, 2023) night.

PVMBG officers will study the structure of the soil and check its condition if there is ground movement in the two sub-districts as many residents' houses have been damaged in the areas, he informed.

According to the team’s assignment letter, the PVMBG officers will conduct their research for two days from Friday to Saturday (February 4), he added.

He said he expected that the work of the team would help determine the condition of the soil in the area so that the BPBD can outline the preparations to mitigate the impact of any potential earthquake in the region.

"It is a part of the disaster mitigation attempt, thus we should know (first) how the condition there is (in the two sub-districts)," he added.

Furthermore, Budi noted that according to the inspection results of BPBD-Garut Office, most of the houses were damaged because no reinforcing bar was used for building their walls.

The damaged buildings comprised old houses built around the 1970s and 1980s, when reinforcing bars and reinforced concrete were not commonly used, he explained.

According to the latest report, the earthquake damaged 495 houses, consisting of 450 houses in Pasirwangi Sub-district and 45 houses in Samarang Sub-district.

In addition, eight school buildings were also damaged in the quake. Fortunately, there were no casualties due to the disaster.

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Translator: Feri Purnama, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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