Christian George
A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province on Sunday night, leaving one person dead and causing damage to homes, public facilities and other infrastructure, local authorities confirmed.
According to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, the shallow earthquake occurred at 9:46 p.m. local time (1346 GMT).
The quake originated at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), with its epicenter located in Buol Regency.
Residents in neighboring parts of Central Sulawesi as well as Gorontalo province also reported feeling the tremor.
Initial assessments by officials revealed that several government offices, a hospital, a restaurant and multiple residential buildings sustained varying degrees of damage, said Buol Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Moh Khacfy Mardjun.
“Preliminary data shows damage to several public facilities and residential buildings. One patient at the regional hospital also died during the evacuation process,” Khacfy said.
Authorities have continued to assess the extent of the destruction while emergency response teams establish temporary shelters and distribute relief supplies to affected residents, according to the Jakarta Globe.
