Mild quake jolts Garut

BANDUNG: An earthquake jolted Garut regency early on Thursday morning but no fatalities were reported. The quake, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, was felt as far away as Bandung and Cilacap regencies.

Hendri Surbakti, head of the Bandung Meteorological and Geophysics Agency, said the epicenter of the quake was located in the ocean some 100 kilometers south of Garut regency.

The quake was caused by the Indo-Australia and Euro-Asia plates crashing into each other, said Hendri.

"Although the mild quake occurred in the ocean there were no reports of a tsunami," said Hendri, adding that the epicenter was 33 kilometers below the sea.

An earthquake rattled Garut on Feb. 2, damaging hundreds of houses in Garut and south Bandung. The February quake measured 5.1 on the Richter scale. -- JP