The 2017 Java earthquake occurred on 15 December 2017 when a moment magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, specifically the city of

Tasikmalaya Tasikmalaya (also known as Tasik) is a landlocked city in West Java, Indonesia. The city is sometimes dubbed ''kota santri'' (city of religious learners) or "the City of a Thousand Pesantrens" for its abundance of Islamic boarding schools. Locat ...

on 23:47:58 West Indonesian Time (16:47:58

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

) in

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

, Indonesia. The earthquake struck at a depth of 91 km and was categorized as a strong but deep earthquake. It was initially registered as a 7.3

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

earthquake by Indonesian agencies. Widespread damage was reported across Tasikmalaya, the nearest major city to the

epicentre The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a s ...

. A

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

warning was immediately issued by the authorities but was subsequently cancelled. Four people have been confirmed dead.

Earthquake

The earthquake struck with a moment magnitude of 6.5 M_w near Tasikmalaya, West Java at 23:47 local time. The epicentre was reportedly located 11 km from Tasikmalaya. Strong shaking were widely reported across West Java, Central Java, Banten, Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Hundreds of people rushed out from high rise buildings in the capital Jakarta. People in Yogyakarta also reported strong shaking during the earthquake. In Bali the earthquake was registered as a light shaking in the

Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

. Strong shaking was also reported in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. The earthquake struck at 23:47, meaning that most residents were sleeping during the earthquake. The earthquake was initially registered as a 7.3 M_w and prompted a tsunami warning due to its intensity. There were also unconfirmed reports which claimed that there were two earthquakes in Java. Confusion and panic immediately ensued and sounds of horns were heard everywhere as streets were jammed. People who were living in the coastal area were told to evacuate to high grounds. Tsunami warnings and advisory were in effect in several locations in Java, particularly in

and Pangandaran. The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics stated that tsunami warnings were issued in Ciamis and Tasikmalaya. Tsunami advisories were in effect in the following regencies and cities in Java:

Bantul Bantul is a town and district, and the capital of Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The district (''kapanewon'') covers an area of and had a population of 64,360 at the 2020 Census. It is a bustling town about to the s ...

, Kulonprogo,

Cianjur Cianjur () is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the regency seat, seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwest) and Bandung ...

(Sindangbarang), Garut,

Sukabumi Sukabumi () is a landlocked city surrounded by the Sukabumi Regency, regency of the same name (within which it is an enclave and exclave, enclave) in the southern foothills of Mount Gede, in West Java, Indonesia, about south of the national ca ...

(Ujung-Genteng),

Cilacap Cilacap Regency (, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Cilacap, which ...

, Kebumen. Rise in water level has been reported in Tasikmalaya. However, Indonesian official later confirmed that there was no tsunami. The warning was subsequently cancelled on 02.26 WIB. Authorities later advised people to return to their homes.

Aftermath

Widespread damage was reported in cities near the epicentre. At least 40 houses collapsed and 2,953 were heavily damaged. A municipal hospital was damaged in Banyumas, while a man was killed in Ciamis as his house collapsed due to the earthquake. An elderly woman was killed in a house collapse. Another injury was reported in Kebumen after a house collapsed. Photos of damaged structures were widely shared in social media. Numerous houses were either damaged or collapsed in Pangandaran Regency, West Java. A woman died in

because she panicked and fell when the earthquake happened. A person died of a heart attack in Ciamis during an earthquake. Two women were killed by fallen debris in Pekalongan and Ciamis. Immediately after the earthquake, reports of blackouts were widely received by the government. Government officials in Cilacap, Central Java reported that at least 504 structures across Cilacap Regency were either badly damaged or destroyed due to the earthquake. Eight schools reportedly collapsed in Garut. A stadium in Wonosobo, Central Java was badly damaged. As many as 2,935 structures across Java were damaged, most of them were structures in West Java. Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management in Tasikmalaya received reports that 6,000 structures were damaged. The total cost of damage that was caused by the earthquake was estimated to be at around Rp 4,6 billion. President Joko Widodo was immediately informed about the earthquake and subsequently ordered aids for the people affected by the quake. Social Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa announced that the government would send supplies of foods and medicines. The Social Ministry announced that aids equivalent to Rp 823 million have been delivered to the hardest hit areas. Hundreds of personnel were deployed to clear debris. The earthquake revealed that tsunami detection system in Indonesia was still minimal. Twenty two tsunami buoys were found to be inoperative since 2012.

References

External links

* {{Earthquakes in 2017 Earthquakes in Java 2017 earthquakes Earthquakes in Indonesia 2017 earthquake December 2017 in Indonesia 2017 disasters in Indonesia