Jokowi Orders Immediate Assistance to Mitigate Effects of Mentawai Quake

Jakarta, March 3 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to provide immediate assistance to mitigate the effects of the earthquake that jolted Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra Province on Wednesday evening. "The president has instructed the agency's head Willem Rampangilei to immediately evaluate the situation in the region and to undertake necessary steps to mitigate the impact of the earthquake," Chief of the Information and Data Center of BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho stated here on Thursday. According to Sutopo, President Jokowi continues to monitor the impact of the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter located at 682 kilometers southwest of Mentawai Islands at a depth of 10 kilometers below sea level. He remarked that the BNPB post was coordinating with the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency and other related agencies in West Sumatra Province to measure the impact and offer assistance. The agency is also using UHF radio communication to coordinate with the Indonesian civilian radio (RAPI) and Indonesian radio organization (ORARI). "The BNPB has also sent a rapid response team to Padang of West Sumatra," Sutopo revealed. Moreover, the agency has coordinated with the regional mitigation agencies in the west coast of Sumatra to measure the impact of the quake, such as in Nias of North Sumatra Province and Simeulue of Aceh Province. Until now, the agency has not found any victims and damaged buildings due to the earthquake. The people in Mentawai Islands and the affected areas have returned to their homes. According to Sutopo, the people in the earthquake-affected areas responded effectively to the early tsunami warning system. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the earthquake occurred at 7:49:47 p.m. local time. The BMKG also informed about the potential threat of a tsunami following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake. However, the agency had officially lifted its Tsunami warning status on Wednesday at 10:34 p.m. local time. A small tsunami measuring up to 10 centimeters was detected in Cocos Island at 9:15 p.m. local time while in Padang, the tsunami measured as high as five centimeters at 9:40 p.m. local time. Additionally, an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale struck Mentawai Islands on Thursday at 7:10 a.m. local time. The BNPB noted that no buildings were destroyed and no human casualties were reported following the aftershock. ***4*** Reported by Anom Prihantoro