1Berita – “Emergency Status Declared for Sumedang Until January 7, 2024, Following Earthquake”
Sumedang regency has officially declared an emergency status from January 1 to January 7, 2024. The rehabilitation and reconstruction process is set to commence on January 8, 2024. Acting Regent Herman Suryatman made this announcement after accompanying the West Java Regional Police Chief, Police Inspector General Akhmad Wiyagus, during an inspection of the conditions at Sumedang Regional Hospital on Tuesday (2/1/2024).
“We manage it well, plan it thoroughly so that disaster management in Sumedang is accountable,” stated Herman.
Herman then confirmed that there were no fatalities in the earthquake that struck Sumedang. However, there were 10 individuals with minor injuries and one person with moderate injuries.
“For those with minor injuries, all of them have returned home, while for those with moderate injuries, they are still at Santosa Hospital after being referred there,” he explained.
Herman mentioned that the affected earthquake zone expanded from initially covering only three sub-districts to eight sub-districts, based on the latest data update.
“These include North Sumedang District, Cimalaka, South Sumedang District, Ganeas, Cisarua Tanjungkerta, Tanjungmedar, and Rancakalong,” he elaborated.
As for the number of damaged houses, it increased from 309 units in three sub-districts to a total of 1,004 houses. The breakdown includes 808 slightly damaged, 93 moderately damaged, and 103 severely damaged units.
“This data is based on assessments from field agencies,” he said.
However, Herman emphasized that this data needs to be verified by the Sumedang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) together with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in the coming days to produce valid information.
“Today and in the next few days, this data will be verified one by one by BPBD and BNPB to determine how many houses are confirmed as severely damaged, moderately damaged, and slightly damaged,” he explained.
Herman also pledged that assistance would be provided to residents whose homes suffered damage, whether it’s slight, moderate, or severe.
“Trust us, with the condition that we will verify first for accountability. For those with minor damage, we will also pay attention,” he said.
In a previous report, an earthquake struck Sumedang, West Java, with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recording its magnitude at 4.5 (previously reported as 4.4).
The earthquake was shallow in nature due to the activity of an active fault, according to BMKG. The earthquake was felt in several areas with varying intensity, prompting local authorities to take immediate action.
Monitoring by BMKG indicated a total of six earthquake activities in Sumedang until 9:15 PM local time on the same day.
The earthquake occurred at 8:46 PM local time, with its epicenter located 6.82 degrees South – 107.92 degrees East or 4 km North of Sumedang Regency, at a depth of 10 km.
