Earthquake leaves one injured

PADANG, West Sumatra: A strong earthquake, which jolted West Sumatra province on Sunday, has left one person injured, four houses badly damaged and dozens of other houses with minor damage in the Batang Kapas district in South Pesisir regency here.

The only person injured in the incident was Mira, nine, who suffered a leg fracture after being hit by material of a collapsed building, Nasrul Abit, the deputy regent of South Pesisir regency, said on Monday.

She is being treated at Painan hospital, some 80 kilometers south of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, said Abit, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The earthquake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, shook the city of Padang and neighboring Bengkulu province at 1.46 p.m on Sunday.

The epicenter was on the coast of the Mentawai Strait, 83 kilometers (51 miles) southeast of Padang, according to a press release from the National Seismology Center.

It was the second quake this month, after another earthquake jolted West Sumatra on Feb. 16 last week, which left five people dead and dozens of houses damaged.

The epicenter of the earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, was located in the Mount Tandikat in Tanah Datar regency.

Meanwhile, many residents of West Sumatra, particularly those in Tanah Datar regency, lined the main streets in the regency in the aftermath of earthquake on Sunday, begging for money from passersby. -- JP