Quakes hit Wamena and Bengkulu

WAMENA, Irian Jaya: An earthquake hit Wamena in the eastern most province of Irian Jaya Tuesday, causing locals to panic.

The local agency for meteorology and geophysics has not yet specified the intensity of the quake which lasted for almost five minutes, Antara reported.

The Missionaries Aviation Fellowship, which has a wide communications network, said it was trying to compile damage reports.

Wamena, Jayawijaya district, is earthquake prone. The town was last hit by a quake in 1996 which buried alive several construction workers.

Earlier Tuesday, Bengkulu was hit by an earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter Scale.

It was the 54th quake to hit the town this year.

The Bengkulu Meteorology and Geophysics Office's chief, Armin Paimin, said the quake's epicenter was 04.7 degrees south, 101.9 degrees east and 100 kilometers below sea level.

There were no immediate reports of material losses or casualties in Bengkulu.