Earthquake forces people to flee

Earthquake forces people to flee

PADANG, West Sumatra: An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the
Richter scale jolted Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra
province, at 10:45 a.m. on Monday, an official said.

No casualties or injuries were reported. However, the quake
caused panic among local residents.

The quake's epicenter was located in the Mentawai straits,
some 100 kilometers west of Padang, an official of the provincial
meteorological and geophysics agency, Erwin, said on Monday.

He said dozens of residents fled their homes and other
buildings fearing they would collapse.--Antara