Death Toll of Aceh Eartquake Reaches 102: BNPB

Jakarta, (Antara) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated on Thursday that at least 102 people have died because of the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Pidie Jaya, Aceh Province, on Wednesday morning.

"The number might increase as the joint SAR team continues its search for victims," Head of the Data and Information Center and spokesperson of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said during a press conference here on Thursday.

As of Thursday at 6 a.m., official data showed that 102 people had died, while one is missing, 136 are severely injured, and 616 are lightly injured as a result of the earthquake. Further, as many as 3,276 local residents have been displaced.

Pidie Jaya District is the most affected region, with 99 of the 102 casualties being found in the region. Some 82 of the bodies have been identified so far.

Two residents were found dead in Bireuen District and one in Pidie District.

The agency stated that in Pidie Jaya, as many as 105 shop houses had collapsed, and 348 houses and 14 masjids were severely damaged by the earthquake.

The tremor also crippled the building of the Pidie Jaya Public Hospital and brought down an elementary school building.

In the neighboring Bireuen District, 40 houses suffered heavy damage, as well as two masjids and a college building.

Some 40 houses were also severely damaged in Pidie District.

The authorities have deployed at least seven excavators to assist search operations in several locations affected by the tremor.

The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 5.03 a.m., was on land in Pidie Jaya, at 5.19 degrees northern latitude and 96.36 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 10 km, some 18 km northeast of Pidie Jaya.

The tremor was felt by people in the district for 15 seconds, for five seconds in Banda Aceh, 10 seconds in Aceh Besar, and 10 seconds in Bireun.

The earthquake had no tsunami potential but did cause extensive damage as it was generated by a strike-slip fault movement, a local expert on earthquakes, Gayatri Indah Marliyani, explained.

A strike-slip fault movement means a horizontal shift of the ground under the sea took place as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, so there is less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami.(*)