REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDA ACEH -- At least 83,838 residents have been displaced by the earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh, on Wednesday and are taking refuge in 124 evacuation camps, according to official data. "The increasing number of refugee should be taken into account," Said Mulyadi, the deputy district head of Pidie Jaya, said on Monday.
Mulyadi, who is also the commander of the local Disaster Response Task Force, said that 82,122 residents were lodged in 120 evacuation centers in Pidie Jaya while 1,716 residents were in four camps in Bireuen District. Local authorities are still gathering data on the damage caused by the quake.
Meanwhile, Willem Rampangilei, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), has said that a valid refugee database is necessary for carrying out disaster relief operations. Once the data on refugees is collected and verified, the government will continue to provide aid to reconstruct houses, Willem said. "I have ordered the deputy of rehabilitation and reconstruction of BNPB to deploy a team to count the loss and damage as well as the cost of post-earthquake recovery," Willem said.
At least 101 people were killed, 134 severely injured, and 532 lightly injured by the earthquake that occurred on Wednesday morning at 05:03 am local time. Official data showed that around 11,668 resident houses, 61 mosques, 161 shop houses, dozens of schools, and local administration buildings have also been damaged by the quake.
The epicenter of the quake was on land, at 5.19 degrees northern latitude and 96.36 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 10 km, some 18 km northeast of Pidie Jaya. The earthquake had no tsunami potential but did cause extensive damage as it was generated by a strike-slip fault movement, according to Gayatri Indah Marliyani, a local expert on earthquakes.
A strike-slip fault movement means a horizontal shift of the ground under the sea took place as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, so there is less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami. The Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded at least 74 aftershocks of lesser intensity after the earthquake.
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