A DEVASTATING
earthquake in
Indonesia has killed three people and damaged hundreds of homes, the country’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has reported.
The 4.4 magnitude quake struck in the highly-populated region of Central Java.
It is understood that more than 300 homes, together with several schools and mosques have been affected by the quake in addition to the three casualties.
Central Java’s Disaster Management Agency head Sarwo Pramana reported that the tremor killed two elderly people and a 13-year-old boy.
They all remained crushed under collapsing buildings.
At least 20 people have been hospitalised so far, he also said, and more than 2,100 have been brought to temporary shelters.
A statement from the National Rescue Agency reads: "Victims were killed or injured by falling buildings.
"People are being treated in hospital or have been evacuated to temporary shelters."
The natural disaster occurred at a depth of four kilometers and was centered about 52 kilometers north of Kebumen.
Indonesia is often rocketed by earthquakes, as it is located on the infamous Ring of Fire, a huge area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean prone to tremors and volcanic eruptions.
A devastating tsunami originated in the Indian Ocean killed more than 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
In 2016 more than 100 were killed by an horrific 6.6 magnitude quake which struck Indonesia's Aceh province in Sumatra.
The World Bank reckons natural disasters cost Indonesia 0.3 per cent of its GDP annually, but a 2015 report on disaster risk management prepared by Indonesia's government said a major earthquake, occurring once every 250 years, could cause losses in excess of $30billion, or three per cent of GDP.