Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – At least eight people have died and 39 others injured following a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that shocked East Java on Saturday, the National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB, said in a statement on Sunday.

The main shock occurred at 02:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, with an epicenter detected at 82 kilometers southwest of the Malang district's coast, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data showed.

Several smaller aftershocks detected since then, the largest one being a 5.5 magnitude shock on Sunday morning.

The regional disaster mitigation agencies (BPDB) have deployed their personnel to gather the victims and displaced ones.

"BPBD Lumajang district reported five people died in their area, while Malang three," Raditya Jati, BNPB's head of disaster data, information and communication center, said in a statement on Sunday.

Three people were seriously injured, and 36 people were slightly injured, Raditya said.

Reports of damages came from Lumajang, Pasuruan, Trenggalek, Probolinggo, Ponorogo, Jember, Tulungagung, Nganjuk, Pacitan, districts as well as urban areas like Blitar, Kediri, Malang and Batu.

Raditya said the earthquake damage 1,189 houses throughout the province, with 85 of them suffering damages beyond repair. Around 150 public facilities and infrastructure, including hospitals, places of worship, and bridges, were also damaged, Raditya said.

Malang and Blitar suffered the heaviest damage from Saturday's earthquake, with 78 percent of the heavily damaged houses came from these two districts. "Malang and Blitar experienced the intensity of shocks at level IV of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale," Raditya said.

Raditya also said BNPB continues to monitor and coordinate with BPBDs in the affected areas to arrange disaster relief.

"Head of BNPB Doni Monardo will leave for Malang on Sunday morning to see the impact of the damage and coordinate with regional heads in the affected areas," Raditya said.

East Java's earthquake occurred less than a week after tropical cyclone Seroja wreak havoc at East Nusa Tenggara province, causing floods and landslides that killed 173 so far and displaced more than 20,000 people throughout the province.

The disasters have also put more strain on the local disaster management agencies, which have been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic for more than a year now.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/eight-killed-in-east-java-earthquak