Powerful quake kills 23 people in Papua

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua

A powerful earthquake rocked the isolated town of Nabire in Papua province on Friday, killing at least 23 people and injuring hundreds of others with 33 of them sustaining severe injuries.

The disaster forced panicky residents to flee their homes and camp out in the streets for fears of aftershocks.

The quake measuring 6.9 Richter scale destroyed or damaged hundreds of houses, offices and public facilities including the Nabire General Hospital, the local legislative council building, the district court and the airport's tower.

Local people said telephone lines connecting Nabire, on the northern coast of Papua, with other regions were disrupted, while the town was also hit briefly by a power blackout after the earthquake.

The quake resulted in a fire that gutted at least six of the affected houses there. The blaze was believed to come from a kerosene-fueled stove.

"A resident was cooking at the time of the earthquake. A stove used for cooking was then upturned as a result of the tremor, so that kerosene poured out causing a fire," local villager Wirda Fakaubun told The Jakarta Post.

There were no reports of fatalities caused by the fire.

Police and residents said that the 23 victims were killed after being hit by the debris of collapsing buildings.

Many residents were still afraid to stay at home because of possible aftershocks. They instead set up makeshift tents outside their houses.

"Indonesian Military officers are busy erecting tents outside the hospital to treat patients because the hospital itself is also badly damaged by the quake," Wirda said.

Police and soldiers also helped evacuate all the patients, including the 12 most seriously injured ones, into tents.

The 12 most seriously injured patients were later flown to a hospital in Biak regency.

Although the runway of Nabire's airport was damaged, a medical team managed to land and brought first-aid kits, tents and intravenous drips for the victims.

Sudaryono, operational division head of the Papua Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), said the quake hit at 6:05 a.m. for around 30 seconds.

The epicenter was about seven kilometers east of Nabire and 80 kilometers deep, he added.

He said tremors were also felt in Biak and other neighboring regencies of Enarotali, Manokwari and Wamena.

Aftershocks hit Nabire seven times until 7 p.m. local time, Sudaryono said.

BMG officials in Jakarta said at least one bridge was damaged, and walls and roads cracked in the quake.

State-owned oil company Pertamina said the earthquake damaged pipelines at their depot in the town and caused fuel leaks.

Local villagers had reported a tidal wave, in the nearby Cendrawasih Bay, but officials could not confirm this.

Papua Governor Jaap Salossa is expected to arrive at the scene on Saturday to coordinate rescue operations.

France's earth sciences observatory in Strasbourg was quoted by AFP as saying it was the largest quake measured in the region since 2000.

On Oct. 10, 2002, a tectonic earthquake rocked Ransiki area in Manokwari, claiming the lives of at least three people and damaging hundreds of houses.

The quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale also cut off the road connecting Ransiki with Manokwari.

In 1996 a powerful quake hit Biak and Manokwari, causing a major tsunami that ripped through hundreds of houses in coastal areas. At least 96 people were reported dead.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, is vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific "ring of fire" -- volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin.

A quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale shook parts of the Maluku islands on Jan. 29, but no major damage or casualties were reported.

On Jan. 2 parts of the resort islands of Bali and Lombok were hit by a quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, which damaged more than 6,000 buildings.