Jakarta – Some 60 homes incurred minor damages after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Labuha, South Halmahera (Halsel), on Friday (Feb 26), at around 6 p.m. Western Indonesian Requirement Time (WIB), the National Catastrophe Mitigation Firm (BNPB) verified.
The firm reported on Saturday that 80 members of 40 households were displaced and had evacuated themselves to safer locations.
The quake, whose center lay at 0.54 degrees Southern latitude and 127.51 degrees Eastern longitude, likewise triggered damage to a local legal council (DPRD) building and Labuha regional public hospital, thus leading to the required evacuation of the medical facility’s inpatients to briefly emergency shelters.
Related news: Magnitude 5.3 quake rattles North Sulawesi’s Melonguane on Wednesday
The locals of Labuha Village fled their houses when they felt the earthquake for two to three seconds. The trembling also resulted in a power cut-off.
Citizens of the districts of Bacan, South Bacan, East Bacan, West Bacan, North West Bacan, and Middle East Bacan also felt the earthquake, though it had no potential to activate a tsunami.
The BNPB immediately deployed a Quick Reaction Group (TRC) to help the victims.
The quake’s epicenter was found some 11 kilometers (km) southeast of Labuha Town, South Halmahera, North Maluku Province, and at a depth of 10 km listed below sea level.
Associated news: Two earthquakes rattle Papua’s Jayapura district
