November 23, 2022
JAKARTA – State electricity company PLN reported on Tuesday that power had returned to 89 percent of customers in Cianjur, West Java, following Monday’s 5.6-magnitude earthquake nearby.
“As of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, a total of 1,802 power stations and 17 feeder liners had resumed operation,” PLN Cianjur manager Muhammad Hermansyah said in a statement, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Hermansyah added that the utility company had deployed heavy machinery to repair networks and broken poles and was focusing on bringing electricity back to administration offices, health centers and hospitals.
The power supply to the regency’s four main hospitals was now normal, he said.
Rescuers searched on Tuesday for survivors buried beneath rubble after the earthquake killed at least 62 people, injured hundreds and left more feared trapped under collapsed buildings.
The epicenter of the shallow 5.6-magnitude quake was near Cianjur. Falling buildings and landslides triggered by the temblor killed most of the victims.
Search and rescue operations were made more challenging by severed road links and lost power in parts of the largely rural, mountainous region.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said at least 25 people were still buried under rubble in Cianjur as of Monday night.
The disaster mitigation agency said more than 2,000 houses had been damaged, and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said more than 13,000 people had moved to evacuation centers.
At least 62 smaller aftershocks followed the main quake, with magnitudes ranging from 1.8 to 4, continuing to shake Cianjur, a regency of some 175,000 people. (dre)