Flores earthquake damages facilities

Flores earthquake damages facilities

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Tuesday's earthquake that hit the island of Flores has injured
dozens of people and damaged scores of houses, public facilities
and government offices, locals said on Wednesday.

Measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake hit Flores
at around 10.55 a.m., damaging various facilities, including a
vital port at the Manggarai regency.

A number of people suffered broken bones when building
materials collapsed on top of them, said the Manggarai regency
secretary Adolfus Zaenudin.

"People are still afraid, they are camping outside their
houses in anticipation of aftershocks," he said, adding that the
exact number of casualties and the material damage was being
calculated.

East Nusa Tenggara's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said
the epicenter was located in the Flores sea, about 70 kilometers
north of the district town of Reo in Manggarai.

Around 2,000 people died when an earthquake measuring 6.7 on
the Richter scale hi Flores in 1992.