A 3.9-magnitude aftershock that struck Cianjur, West Java, on Wednesday afternoon caused the freshly repaired main road of Cisarua, Sarampad village, Cugenang sub-district, to subside again.
Based on ANTARA’s monitoring at the scene, the main access road to the village, which had subsided following Monday’s earthquake, collapsed again due to heavy rain and the aftershock, which lasted three seconds.
Following the main earthquake, the road had become uneven and tended to slope. To repair it, the damaged asphalt had to be broken using an excavator.
However, the freshly repaired road slumped again following the aftershock on Wednesday and became too steep to walk on. The soil also became very soggy due to heavy rain.
When an ANTARA reporter asked for assistance, nearby residents said that they were too afraid to cross the damaged road.
The aftershock also left Cisarua village residents very emotional and shocked as they were forced to vacate their homes. Some of the homes looked damaged to the point of collapsing.
Further, at least three people suffered minor injuries after being struck by building materials and had to be taken to the evacuation post to receive medical assistance from volunteers.
Meanwhile, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) informed that the 3.9-magnitude aftershock, which occurred at 11:41 a.m. local time on Wednesday, occurred underground at a depth of one kilometer and was located eight km northwest of Cianjur, West Java.
The aftershock was also felt in the Cianjur Regional Hospital area. However, patients undergoing treatment there did not panic.
“I felt it, but the patients are safe because we are placing them outside the building,” one of the hospital security staff, Herman, informed.
Light rainfall was observed in the Cianjur area since 11:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
Source: Antara News