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23 killed as 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia, over 100 injured

More than 100 people were also injured and at least 15,000 people had to evacuate because their houses were damaged by the strong jolt, Wibowo said.

23 killed as 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia, over 100 injured

Representational image (Photo: IStock)

At least 23 people were killed and over 100 injured after a strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s remote islands, according to disaster agency on Friday.

Disquieted residents ran into the streets as structures fell in around them with the 6.5-magnitude tremor sparking landslides that buried no lower than one victim on Thursday.

“The total number of people who died is 23,” national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said in a statement.

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More than 100 people were also injured and at least 15,000 people had to evacuate because their houses were damaged by the strong jolt, Wibowo said.

Hundreds of houses, offices, schools and public facilities have also been damaged in the disaster. Authorities have set up emergency tents and public kitchen for the evacuees in several districts.

The US Geological Glimpse stated the quake struck about 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at a depth of 29 kilometres.

The Southeast Asian archipelago is, without doubt, one of the many most catastrophe-susceptible nations on Earth.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

Nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation nearly a year after the double disaster, the Red Cross said this week.

In 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.

(With agency inputs)

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