DENPASAR, KOMPAS — Forty-four homes were damaged and seven people were injured on Tuesday (16/7/2019) when a magnitude-5.8 earthquake occurred in the Bali Strait, 80 kilometers off the southern coast of Bali’s Jembrana regency. Across the strait, 20 buildings were damaged and two people were injured from falling roof tiles due to the earthquake.
The Bali Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) released the data, which was accurate at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Most of the damage occurred in Badung regency to the northeast of the earthquake’s epicenter, 104 kilometer below the ocean’s surface.
“No casualties were reported,” acting BPBD Bali chief I Made Rentin said in Denpasar on Tuesday. The earthquake shook Bali for 30-40 seconds at 8:18 a.m. on Tuesday, Central Indonesian Time (WITA).
Nine cities and regencies across the island felt the earthquake. At many schools, especially elementary schools, students were sent home early for fear of aftershocks.
Badung resident Wayan Gendra said that he felt tremors instead of waves or shocks. “It felt like the whole house was shaking and the glasses clattered. It was long enough, more than 20 seconds,” said Wayan.
Similar reports were heard from Banyuwangi. “The tremors were quite long, around 10 seconds,” said Suprianto, a resident of the Banyuwangi Permata housing complex. Residents who were preparing for the day immediately ran out of their houses.
At SD 1 Ungasan elementary school in Badung regency, Ni Nengah Sukensi, a teacher, and two students, fourth-grader Gading Eka Paksi and third-grader Kadek Suryawati, were injured. Two other students were injured at SMPN 5 Mendoyo junior high school in Jembrana.
In Banyuwangi, 60-year-old Painem of Wonosobo village, Srono district, was doing the laundry when the earthquake struck, and was hit by pieces of a wall that collapsed and falling roof tiles when she ran outside.
“My children and grandchildren were not at home. They had left for school or the office. I did not feel the first earthquake, but the second one was more powerful. I ran outside, but was hit by roof tiles and wall rubble,” she said.
Earthquake information and tsunami early warning head Daryono of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) said in Jakarta that the earthquake was caused by the subduction of the Indo-Australian plate under the Eurasian plate.
Although the earthquake’s epicenter was located along an underwater thrust fault, it was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami. However, huge earthquakes are known to occur in the active subduction zone south of Java-Bali-Lombok-Sumba.
On 19 Aug. 1977, a strong earthquake hit southern Sumba and triggered a tsunami that destroyed Luntuk Beach on Sumbawa Island, killing 100 people. A 2-meter-high tsunami also struck southern Bali.
Impact of Maluku earthquake
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) also confirmed that four people were killed on Sunday in the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that hit South Halmahera, North Maluku. Earlier news reports said that two people had been killed.
Fifty-one other people were injured during the North Maluku earthquake.
“Around 2,000 people had been evacuated by [Monday]. The number has now increased to 3,104,” acting BNPB spokesperson Agus Wibowo told reporters.
Three people were killed in South East Gane district, South Halmahera, while one person was killed in South West Gane district.
“The government, through the BNPB, has provided Rp 500 million (US$35,881) for the rescue operation,” Agus added.
In Makassar, Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said the ministry was still compiling a list of victims in the Maluku and Bali earthquakes.
“We hope that the number of affected people will not be very high. However, the point is that we will provide assistance, however many casualties there are and however much damage there is. We will help repair damaged homes,” he said.