Quake hits Jakarta, West Java, ruins houses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An earthquake hit Jakarta and some areas in West
\nJava on Wednesday, destroying dozens of buildings, mostly
\nresidents' houses, in Sukabumi and Bogor.<\/p>\n
No fatalities were reported, but dozens of workers in
\nfactories in Kedung Halang and Gunung Putri, Bogor were
\nreportedly injured in a stampede when people rushed out of their
\nworkplaces as the tremors took place.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta announced
\nhours after the quake hit Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor and Sukabumi at
\n8:10 a.m., that its magnitude was 5.1 on the Richter scale.<\/p>\n
The epicenter of the tectonic quake was in the area of
\nSukabumi, some 100 kilometers south of Jakarta, Waan Tarmin,
\nspokesman for the Agency said.<\/p>\n
A staff member at the Quake Center Office at the Agency,
\nRiskita said that all 33 houses and one hospital destroyed by the
\nquake were in the village of Cibadak, Sukabumi.<\/p>\n
Twelve houses in Cibadak were totally ravaged by the tremors,
\nwhile at least 20 other buildings, including a state hospital,
\nwere cracked.<\/p>\n
In the village of Kadudampit in Cisaat district, also in
\nSukabumi, tens of residents' houses were partially damaged, while
\nalmost 200 houses in Cijeruk village, Bogor were seriously
\ndamaged. \"Six people were hurt,\" Ade Yana Mulyana, an employee at
\nthe Cijeruk district office said.<\/p>\n
The quake did not disrupt the activities of people in Jakarta,
\nhowever.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, people rushed out of their houses and offices as
\nsoon as they felt the quake at 8:10 a.m.. Many shops turned on
\ntheir alarms ordering people to leave the buildings.<\/p>\n
The first tremor was recorded at the quake monitoring station
\nin Lembang, North Bandung, followed by the other monitoring
\nstations in Soreang, Ciparay, Padalarang and Bandung.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta many people were not aware of the tremor which
\nlasted some 20 seconds.<\/p>\n
Three buildings in Bandung, a resident's house in Sukajadi,
\nthe State Administration (LAN) building on Jl. Cimandiri, and the
\nMakro wholesale building on Jl. Soekarno-Hatta, were slightly
\ndamaged by the tremors.<\/p>\n
Tectonic<\/p>\n
Riskita said that Wednesday's tremors were the product of a
\ntectonic quake, caused by a shift in the Indian-Australian
\ntectonic plates. \"They move by seven centimeters to the north
\nannually,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Asked if the tremors were the signal of a bigger quake
\n(especially for Jakarta and West Java), she replied that
\ntechnically earthquakes could not be predicted. \"There are
\nfactors that cause quakes. The probability is 50:50.\"<\/p>\n
The head of the quake laboratory at the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology, Nanang T. Puspito said he was worried about possible
\nbig aftershocks.<\/p>\n
\"Theoretically, small tremors which become medium tremors,
\nlike those in Sukabumi, are usually early signs of stronger
\nquakes,\" Nanang said. \"However, we have yet to thoroughly analyze
\nthings, and each quake has its own characteristics.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Engkon K. Kertapati, the head of the seismotectonic
\ndivision at the geological research and development center in
\nBandung, said that the magnitude of Wednesday's quake was 6.06 on
\nthe Richter scale.<\/p>\n
\"We maybe have a different method of reading the tremors,\" he
\nsaid referring to the announcement by the Agency of Meteorology
\nand Geophysics in Jakarta. Engkon said that strings of
\naftershocks were very possible.<\/p>\n
At least nine quakes hit Sukabumi this month, Engkon said,
\nadding that July 12th's tremor was the strongest. \"Our records
\nindicate that since July 6 the magnitude tended to increase. On
\nJuly 6 alone there were three tremors with magnitudes of 2.13,
\n2.04 and 3.37 on the Richter scale.<\/p>\n
\"On July 8 there were two quakes with the magnitude of 4.21
\nand 5.05 on the Richter scale, while the biggest was today's
\nquake,\" he said in his office on Wednesday, adding that on June
\n22 quakes hit Sukabumi.<\/p>\n
Both Riskita and Engkon said that strings of aftershocks were
\npossible. There is no single piece of equipment that can predict
\nan earthquake. The most important factor was the readiness of the
\npeople living in areas along quake-lines to anticipate the
\ndisaster, they said.<\/p>\n
A strong quake, with a magnitude of six on the Richter scale,
\njolted Jakarta and West Java on Dec. 21 last year. (21\/25\/sur)<\/p>",
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