The Indonesian archipelago lies on an arc of volcanoes and fault lines between the Pacific and Indian oceans where earthquakes large and small occur virtually every day. But Monday was no ordinary day.
A powerful quake hit Indonesia’s main island, Java, and disaster soon piled upon disaster.
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake itself toppled hundreds of buildings and killed at least 162 people around the city of Cianjur. Countless others were buried in debris.
But even for those rescued, the ordeal was far from over.
The quake set off landslides that prevented many from reaching the city’s main hospital. Even once they were there, conditions were chaotic. The hospital, too, had been damaged, and doctors were trying to do their jobs without electrical power.
An emergency tent outside a hospital in Cianjur, above. Rescuers searching through vehicles devastated by a landslide in the city, below.
A damaged school in Cianjur.
Medical workers were quickly overwhelmed by the number of injured.
Workers inspecting a store damaged during the quake.
Early reports put the number of damaged or destroyed buildings at more than 300.
An injured child being treated at the Cianjur Regional Hospital.
