Earthquake slightly damages houses in southeastern Indonesia, but no casualties reported
Jakarta (AP): An earthquake slightly damaged houses and other buildings in southeastern Indonesia early Thursday, causing some panic but no apparent casualties.
The quake was strongly felt in several cities and villages and caused some to panic, said Daryono, who heads the Earthquake and Tsunami Center at Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency. It was based on land and had no risk of a tsunami.
"The quake has caused light damages in several buildings and houses," wrote Daryono, who goes by a single name, on the social media platform X.
Video circulating on social media showed residents in Kupang, the province's capital and largest city, reacting as houses and buildings swayed just after dawn. Some witnesses said ceilings at the governor's and mayor's offices were damaged.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the strength at 6.1 magnitude and said the quake occurred 36 kilometers (22 miles) below the surface. The epicenter was 21 kilometers (13 miles) north-northeast of Kupang on the western side of Timor Island.
The Indonesian agency measured its strength at 6.3 magnitude. Variations in early measurements of quakes are common.
Indonesia is a seismically active archipelago of 270 million people where earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis frequently occur.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake last year killed at least 602 people in West Java's Cianjur city. It was the deadliest in Indonesia since a 2018 quake and tsunami in Sulawesi killed more than 4,300 people.
In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.
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Medical tests, vaccination for Haj pilgrims to be completed by March 28
Bengaluru: Health and Family Welfare Services Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde has directed officials to complete medical examinations and vaccination for pilgrims travelling for Haj this year by March 28.
In a circular issued to the Director of the Medical Education Department, he stated that the District RCH Officer has been designated as the nodal officer to complete all related activities as per the Standard Operating Procedure. The District Health Officer concerned will oversee overall monitoring and coordination of the programme.
The Commissioner has instructed deans and directors of medical colleges, district surgeons and medical superintendents to extend necessary cooperation to ensure smooth conduct of the medical examinations. Medical colleges have also been asked to deploy specialist doctors from their institutions to assist in the medical screening teams for Haj pilgrims.
Hospitals participating in the process must submit details of the specialist teams involved in the examinations and the schedule of health camps organised for the pilgrims. They have also been directed to update the daily progress of the activities on the website https://hphis.ehospital.nic.in/ for monitoring and review.
Officials have been asked to make necessary arrangements in view of the 3,991 Haj pilgrims in Bengaluru who are required to undergo medical screening. Facilities for the examinations have been arranged at Victoria Hospital, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (Bowring Hospital), K.C. General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, K.R. Puram General Hospital and Yelahanka General Hospital.
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Haj Committee president Zulfikar Ahmed Khan said that medical examination camps are being organised at Haj Bhavan until March 16. As per the directions of the Saudi Arabian government, all Haj pilgrims must undergo mandatory medical screening.
Pilgrims will first undergo general medical check-ups at Haj Bhavan, and those requiring further tests will be referred to government hospitals based on doctors’ recommendations. He also said arrangements have been made for medical examinations at seven government hospitals in Bengaluru for Haj pilgrims.
