Damage caused by an earthquake in Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on May 30
A strong earthquake rocked western parts of Indonesia’s main island early yesterday, causing panic but no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
The National Disaster Management Agency said the earthquake shook wide parts of western Java island including the capital, Jakarta. It said residents in some cities ran out of houses in panic.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-5.6 quake was centered in the Indian Ocean, about 97 kilometers south-southwest of the West Java town of Cibungur with a depth of 10 kilometers.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said the quake was a stronger magnitude-6.3 but had no potential to cause a tsunami.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to the seismic upheaval and tsunamis due to its location on major geological faults known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia’s Aceh province. AP
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