Quakes hit Bali, East Java, Bengkulu

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The resort island of Bali and several areas of neighboring East Java province were rattled by an earthquake early Saturday morning. But there were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries.

A quake also occurred early on Saturday morning in Bengkulu, on the east coast of Sumatra, The Associated Press reported.

The 20-minute quake affecting Bali caused cracks in the walls of houses and buildings located near its epicenter in the East Java town of Banyuwangi, local meteorologists said.

The tremor measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale also caused panic among residents in affected areas.

Sukmono, a resident of a heavily populated housing complex in downtown Denpasar, said he hurriedly woke up his family to evacuate their house. Minutes later security guards of the housing state sounded the alarm.

"Thank God, nobody was hurt," Sukmono said.

An official of Bali's Geophysics and Meteorology Agency (BMG), Gede Erik Sumayasa, said the quake's epicenter was located in the Indonesian ocean, some 69 kilometers south of Banyuwangi, a major town on the eastern tip of East Java.

He said the quake had been quite long and varied in intensity. Local people had assumed the fluctuations were aftershocks.

"In fact, it was a single earthquake that started at 2:32 a.m. local time and ended at 2:52 a.m.," Erik said.

The quake was caused by the movement of the Indo-Australia and Euro-Asia tectonic plates. The tectonic plates lie along southern parts of Java, Bali and West and East Nusa Tenggara, thus, making the provinces prone to earthquakes. Each year the plates move around seven to 12 centimeters.

"Our seismograph recorded that there are six to 10 subterranean earthquakes each day due to the plates' movements. However, the quakes are generally too weak to be noticed," Erik said.

Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Rim of Fire" noted for its volcanic and seismic activity.

In Bengkulu, a quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale occurred at 4:57 a.m. and caused panic among residents.

The province suffered extensive damage in June 2000 when a strong quake hit the area, killing 94 people and causing widespread damage to buildings.