JUST IN: 44 Killed, 300 Injured In Deadly Indonesia Earthquake

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia’s main island Java on Monday, claiming the lives of at least 44 people, local officials said, with buildings damaged and a landslide triggered.

“There have been dozens of people killed. Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged. So far, 44 people have died,” Adam, spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

Footages from local television stations showed some buildings in Cianjur town reduced almost entirely to rubble as worried residents huddled outside.

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This news medium reports that the country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the ‘Ring of Fire’.

In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province.

In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.