NTT quake damages houses

NTT quake damages houses

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: An earthquake hit Manggarai
regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Saturday morning, damaging
several houses and public facilities, an official said.

There were no reports of casualties or of injuries after the
quake, which measured 5.58 on the Richter scale.

The disaster caused panic among local residents, who fled
their homes, said the spokesman of the Manggarai administration
secretary, Adolf Senudin.

Gregorius Darmanto, a 30-year-old resident from Ruteng,
Flores, said, "Residents panicked, and business activities came
to a halt for a short time. One hour later, though, locals
returned to work after it became clear that there would be
aftershocks."

He said the tremor took place at around 7:50 a.m. and felt
"very strong".

Officials at the Kupang Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
(BMG) said the earthquake's epicenter was estimated to be in the
Flores Sea.

In April 2003, a quake rocked the regency, killing at least
seven people and destroying dozens of houses and public
infrastructure. -- JP