Number of evacuees rises after Indonesia's earthquake

JAKARTA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of people fleeing home after a shallow quake in central Indonesia has increased significantly as authorities are preparing for establishing hundreds of temporary shelters.

A shallow quake with a magnitude of 4.4 and a depth of 4 km under earth struck Central Java province on Thursday, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.

National disaster management agency said on Saturday that the number of displaced persons rose to 3,506 people from their earlier report of over 2,000 on Thursday as the catastrophic disaster has damaged over 300 houses and buildings in Banjarnegara district of Central Java province.

Spokesman of the agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that a total of 445 units of temporary shelters would be constructed for some of the quake's victims.

"An emergency status has been declared to pave relief emergency efforts," he told Xinhua in a text message.

The seven-day status will end on April 24, according to the spokesman.

The quake killed two people and injured 21 others in the district, according to the official.

"The worst impacts were in Kalibening sub-district as the unstable soil condition worsened the risks," he said.

Over 600 soldiers, police and personnel from the Red Cross, search and rescue office, disaster agency and volunteers have jointly undertaken the relief efforts in the quake-affected areas, Sutopo said.

Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquake as it is located at a quake hit zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire. Enditem