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.