Aftershocks hit Bengkulu

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: Another strong aftershock jolted the provincial capital here on Sunday as people were rebuilding their homes which were wracked by an earthquake last month.

Local meteorology and geophysics office head Armyn Paimin told Antara that the predawn temblor was measured at 5.5 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located at the depth of 33 kilometers in the Indian Ocean, 120 kilometers southwest of here.

It was one of the strongest aftershocks since the quake, which measured 7.3, destroyed the town on June 4 and left 54 people dead and hundreds of others injured. The geophysics office recorded 3,354 aftershocks, of which 103 were above 4 on the Richter scale.

Most residents were asleep when Sunday's tremor took place. Panicking, they rushed out of their homes, while many others gathered in mosques to say prayers.

No fatalities were reported from the temblor, except some buildings were leveled after being damaged in last month's quake. (amd)