All together now: Villagers working to demolish a building that was badly damaged by the earthquake at Gasol village in Cianjur. — AFP
The death toll from an earthquake that hit Indonesia’s main island Java last month has jumped by hundreds to 602, a local administration official said, after authorities verified unreported casualties across the worst-hit town.
The shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the town of Cianjur in Indonesia’s most populous province West Java on Nov 21, with most of the victims killed as buildings collapsed or landslides were triggered.
Cianjur local administration spokesman Adam, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said on Friday that the new toll – up from a previously reported figure of 334 – was based on data collected from residents across the town.
He said many people had rushed to bury their relatives after the disaster without reporting their deaths to authorities.
“If someone dies, residents in Cianjur often immediately bury them. Because of the panicked situation, those who died were immediately buried by relatives without notifying the local health agency,” he said.
“It was later revealed that around 600 people died, when it is officially counted,” he added, citing the administration’s new figure of 602.
The local rescue agency, known as the BPBD, posted the new death toll on social media.
An official from the agency, Wawan Setiawan, confirmed the new toll to AFP.
National disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said it was still sticking with a lower death toll of 335 but was working to verify the new figure.
“Because they were immediately buried and were not reported, their names were not included in the missing people list,” he said.
“The district head said they already have the data, regardless we still need to verify.”
The quake damaged more than 62,000 houses and forced more than 73,000 people to evacuate to at least 325 shelters, officials said. — AFP
