Jakarta (ANTARA) - Around six thousand residents evacuated after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the northeast part of West Pasaman, West Sumatra, on Friday morning, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
In a press statement on Saturday, BNPB's Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center Head, Abdul Muhari, noted that most of the refugees were spread across 35 locations in West Pasaman.
The West Pasaman Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded that five thousand residents had evacuated in 35 locations in Talamau, Pasaman, and Kinali Sub-District.
Moreover, one thousand people had reportedly evacuated in Pasaman District.
The earthquake was also reported to affect 16 families comprising 53 people in Lima Puluh Kota District.
According to BNPB's data on Saturday, the 6.1-magnitude earthquake had claimed eight lives while also severely injuring 10 people and causing mild injuries to 76 people.
The earthquake claimed the lives of three residents and inflicted severe injuries to 10 people and mild injuries to 50 people in West Pasaman.
Meanwhile, the earthquake also killed five people while injuring 25 people in Pasaman. In addition, one person was injured due to the earthquake in Agam.
Moreover, the earthquake caused severe damage to 103 houses, moderate damage to five houses, and mild damage to 317 houses.
The earthquake also destroyed three educational facilities, a community hall, the West Pasaman hall, a place of worship, and a bank.
The West Pasaman government had declared the earthquake disaster emergency response period for 14 days from February 25 to March 10, 2022.
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BNPB Head Suharyanto had visited regions affected by the earthquake to ensure the availability of resources and equipment for disaster impact emergency handling.
He urged the command posts across districts and cities affected by the earthquake to directly coordinate with the provincial post or BNPB's Operation Control Center.
"During this emergency handling period, in addition to serving the affected residents, the main priority for the next 7x24 hours is searching and rescuing earthquake victims," he remarked.
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