Indonesians pray open air after lethal quake destroys city By Reuters

By Stefanno Sulaiman

CIANJUR, Indonesia (Reuters) -A whole bunch of Indonesians prayed out within the open subsequent to rice paddies and within the streets on Friday, after an earthquake flattened their city in western Java and left 310 of their neighborhood useless.

Muslim cleric Muhamad Jamhur led a congregation in prayer in an outside volleyball court docket simply 200 metres (0.1 miles) from a mosque whose partitions had been left cracked and home windows shattered by the shallow 5.6-magnitude quake that hit the city of Cianjur, about 75 km south of the capital Jakarta, earlier this week.

“After the catastrophe, we’re nonetheless afraid. So we needed to transfer right here on this volleyball court docket, not in a mosque. I requested the congregation to remain on guard as a result of catastrophe may strike once more,” Muhamad, 52, mentioned.

A whole bunch of aftershocks have rattled the mountainous area, the place grieving and traumatised residents are sheltering in tents, awaiting provides of meals, water, and medicines which have been slowed by heavy rains and landslides.

Meals vendor Asep Hidayat, who like many others misplaced his home within the quake, mentioned he was grateful to have the ability to be a part of within the prayers, even when not in a mosque.

“Prayer nonetheless must go on, regardless that we’re in a shelter, prayer is an obligation,” he mentioned.

Indonesia’s inhabitants is predominantly Muslim.

Rescue groups on Friday continued efforts to clear mud and particles and pull out any victims. Over 20 individuals stay lacking, however hopes of discovering them alive are slim, the catastrophe mitigation company mentioned.

Indonesia is likely one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations, commonly recording sturdy earthquakes offshore the place fault traces run.

Monday’s quake was significantly lethal as a result of it struck a densely populated space at a depth of simply 10 km. Poor development requirements additionally triggered buildings to break down, resulting in many deaths, officers mentioned.