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Agencies

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake﻿ that shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island in the early hours of Friday killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said, as tens of thousands of residents fled to safety.
The quake was centred 36km south of the Mamuju district in West Sulawesi province, at a depth of 18km, the US Geological Survey said. It was felt strongly for about seven seconds just past 1am.
Officials from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency warned of a potential tsunami if more strong quakes hit Sulawesi.
“The latest information we have is that 26 people are dead... in Mamuju city,” said Ali Rahman, head of the local disaster mitigation agency, adding “that number could grow”.
“Many of the dead are buried under rubble,” he said.
Separately, the national disaster agency said at least eight people had died in Majene, a district south of Mamuju, bringing the total death toll to 37.

Rescuers were searching for more than a dozen patients and staff trapped beneath the rubble of the levelled Mamuju hospital.
“The hospital is flattened – it collapsed. There are patients and hospital employees trapped under the rubble and we’re now trying to reach them,” said Arianto from the rescue agency in Mamuju city, who goes by one name.
At least 62 houses, a public health centre and a military office were damaged in Mamuju, said Raditya Jati, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s spokesperson. Landslides were set off in three locations and blocked a main road connecting Mamuju to the Majene district, he said, adding that the agency was still collecting data from areas struck by the quake.

In Majene, at least 218 people were injured, as more than 300 houses and buildings were damaged, including health clinics, hotels and offices, the district’s disaster agency chief Sirajuddin said.
He said some 10,000 people are now in several temporary shelters.
The quake did not trigger a tsunami warning, but the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, Dwikorita Karnawati, told a news conference that strong aftershocks could follow, with a possibility that another powerful quake could trigger a tsunami.
There had been at least 26 aftershocks in the area in the past day, he said.

In a video released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, a girl trapped in the wreckage of a house cried out for help and said her mother was alive but unable to move out.
“Please help me,” the girl told rescuers, who replied that they desperately wanted to help her.
In the video, the rescuers said an excavator was needed to save them. Other images in the video showed a severed bridge and damaged and even flattened houses.
My children ... they are trapped inside, please help
A villager in Mamuju district
Another video showed a father cried out for help to save his children buried under tonnes of his house rubble. “My children ... they are trapped inside, please help,” he cried in panic.
On social media, videos showed residents fleeing to higher ground on motorcycles, and a child trapped under the rubble as people tried to remove debris with their bare hands.
On Thursday, a magnitude-5.9 quake hit under the sea in the same region, damaging several homes but causing no apparent casualties.

Gempa 6,2 SR di wilayah Sulbar merusak sebagian bangunan hotel Maleo Mamuju. pic.twitter.com/nhUj7cu2kN
— IG: jalanankota (@jalanankota) January 14, 2021

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 260 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In 2018, a devastating 6.2-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami struck the city of Palu, in Sulawesi, killing thousands of people.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters


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People survey the damage following an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi province. Photo: Antara Foto via Reuters

epa08938238 A handout picture made available by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) shows rescuers searching for victims under the rubble of a collapsed building following a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, 15 January 2021. At least three people were killed and dozens injured. EPA-EFE/BASARNAS/HANDOUT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Residents inspect earthquake-damaged houses in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. A strong inland and shallow earthquake hit eastern Indonesia early Friday causing people to panic in parts of the country's Sulawesi island and run to higher ground. (AP Photo/Rudy Akdyaksyah)

This handout photo taken and released on January 15, 2021 by Indonesia's National Disaster Agency (BASARNAS) shows rescuers looking for survivors trapped in a collapsed building in Mamuju, after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Sulawesi island. (Photo by HANDOUT / NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE AGENCY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS)" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Majene on Sulawesi island at after 1am on Friday, killing at least 37 people
Officials say there could be a tsunami if more strong quakes hit Sulawesi island



The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Majene on Sulawesi island at about 2am on Friday.


Earthquakes

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