Quake causes panic in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale sent people scurrying out of high rise buildings, shopping malls and homes in Jakarta yesterday.

Believed to be the strongest quake to rock the capital, the tremor caused major panic, disrupting work in high rise buildings.

Last night there were no reports of casualties in Jakarta or any other cities in West Java where the quake was also felt. Nor were there any reports of major structural damage, although some buildings in Jakarta were reported to have developed cracks.

There were reports of people fainting in panic, including a woman at City Hall who was rushed to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) put the quake's epicenter in the Indian Ocean some 300 kilometers southwest of Jakarta. The fact that it was 33 kilometers below sea level explains why the damage has been minimal.

BMG agency recorded nine milder after-shocks after the first tremor at 3.05 p.m.

The agency was flooded with calls from hotels and building's managements asking if other shocks were expected.

The news was relayed quickly to hotel guests.

"Everything is under control," Hana Hoed, public relations manager of the Regent Jakarta, said a few minutes after the quake.

Ria Leimana, PR manager at the Jakarta Hilton Hotel, said no damage was reported, but the management had prepared fire extinguishers and its engineering team.

The frenzy was most apparent among office workers in high rise buildings, with most people fearing after shocks.

Many companies sent their workers home early immediately after the tremor.

On Jl. Jend. Sudirman and Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Jakarta's main thoroughfares, men and women spilled out of high rise buildings and quickly filled the streets and the medians.

Many of them were seen calling home on their handphones.

"Allahu Akbar...Allahu Akbar (God is Great)," people shouted as they rushed down emergency stairs.

"I remembered all my sins," a high ranking city official recalled afterwards.

Shoppers at Pasaraya, Blok M "were falling over each other on escalators," a witness said.

Crowds at Pondok Indah Mall rushed for the exits as security people tried to maintain order. Sales assistants were called back and told to lock their counters before fleeing.

A meeting on City Hall's second floor was postponed by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja. He remained calm while others were eager to leave the 24-story municipal building, witnesses said.

"Everyone panicked," Hari, an employee on the 19th floor of the Artha Graha Building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, said.

"There's going to be another quake, isn't there? It's from Krakatau, is it?" the employee of Sima Public Relations said.

The ensuing traffic congestion was worse than usual.

The tremors were felt in Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and Bogor.

In Cimanggu, Bogor, a torrential downpour and thunder accompanied the quake. Furniture rattled and lamps swayed from ceilings. "It was very frightening," a housewife, Mrs. Nurlan said.

Amir Sidharta, art curator at Museum Universitas Harapan at Menara Asia, Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang, said most employees in several high-rise offices there hastened outside.

"Everything in the room (on the 10th floor) trembled wildly and I felt as if I was on a boat," Amir commented.

In Labuan, Banten, people complained of dizziness and headaches. Glasses fell from tables and smashed.

"Tiles also fell from rooftops and broke," Zuher Darwis, a trader at the Labuan market told The Jakarta Post.

Antara quoted police at the Carita beach resort in Banten, saying parked cars "rolled on their own" after the quake.

Duty manager I.G.K. Geter of the Samudra Beach hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu, on the south coast of West Java, said activities, like meetings, were disrupted briefly.

The last major quake to hit Indonesia was in February last year, when a tremor measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale left 97 people dead in Biak, Irian Jaya.

Other major recent quakes were in Liwa (Lampung) in February 1994, 6.5 on the Richter scale (casualty 120); Flores Island in December 1992, 6.8 on the Richter scale (casualty over 2,000, caused chiefly by tidal waves), and Jambi in October 1995, 7 on the Richter scale (casualty 80). (team)