| januari 4 2009 |
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MANOKWARI - Four people were killed and buildings collapsed when a series of earthquakes hit eastern Indonesia's West Papua province on Sunday morning, said Satrio Nurhat, an official from the Indonesian National Disaster Management Center. Nurhat said that some local residential buildings and two banks were also damaged in the quakes, adding casualties and material damage were still increasing. Authorities in Rendani Airport, Manokwari, West Papua has stopped activities in the airport following series of powerful earthquakes that hit the city earlier on Sunday, Kompas.com reported. The authorities and airlines operating in the airport agreed to stop every activity on security and safety concerns. An Express Air airlines flight heading for Manokwari from Jayapura, Papua, was forced to fly back following the decision. A series of powerful earthquakes hit at dawn, cutting power lines, badly damaging buildings and killing at least three people in the area. Manokwari Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Pit Wahyudi said that the police were working to evacuate two people buried under debris of Mutiara Hotel. Two hotels collapsed and hundreds of houses damaged after the quake, he said. A number of city residents have been evacuated to the local military command headquarters. There are approximately 70,000 people living in Manokwari. The PAK Project is safe and it’s far away from the disaster area. |