Earthquake jolts Wamena

Earthquake jolts Wamena

WAMENA, Irian Jaya: An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter
scale jolted the town of Wamena, some 290 southwest of Jayapura,
capital of Irian Jaya at 6:07 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday.

There was no immediate report of casualties, Antara said
Thursday.

Chief of the meteorological and geophysics (BMG) station in
Irian Jaya Heri Saroso said the quake, with epicenter 130 km east
of here and 33 kilometers underground, was strongly felt by
locals.

Last August an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 on the
Richter scale also hit Wamena but no casualties were reported.

Wamena was torn by riots which claimed at least 30 lives
following the lowering of the Morning star separatist flags last
month. (edt)