... that of the 448 affected buildings, 272 are slightly damaged, 153 are moderately damaged, and 19 others...
Sukabumi, West Java (ANTARA News) - The 6.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Sukabumi on Monday has damaged 448 buildings, reported an official of the Sukabumi disaster mitigation office (BPBD).

"The worst-affected sub-district is Cidolog. Until now, 12 sub-districts have reported that the earthquake has damaged a number of buildings in their region," the secretary of Sukabumi BPBD, Tatang, Wednesday.

He said that of the 448 affected buildings, 272 are slightly damaged, 153 are moderately damaged, and 19 others - in addition to a grand mosque, an Islamic boarding school and two small mosques - are seriously damaged.

"The figure is tentative, because we are still unable to calculate the material losses; the number of damaged buildings could increase later," he added.

The 12 affected sub-districts are Cidolog, Tegalbuleud, Nyalindung, Surade, Warungkiara, Cidadap, Parungkuda, Palabuhanratu, Ciemas, Simpenan, Sagaranten and Pabuaran. Sukabumi district contains 47 sub-districts in all.

The Sukabumi and West Java authorities have distributed relief aid to the earthquake victims.

Two village children - Imaliah (6) and Fitri (12) - from Pabuaran sub-district were wounded after they were hit by falling beams during the quake.

Indonesia is prone to tectonic and volcanic earthquakes because the world's largest archipelago is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire - an arc comprising volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

(KR-BSR/F001/INE)

Editor: Ade P Marboen
Copyright © ANTARA 2012