Quake causes panic in Jakarta

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)