Strong earthquake hits West Sumatra
Strong earthquake hits West Sumatra
JAKARTA (JP): An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the open-ended
Richter scale rocked West Sumatra towns early yesterday morning,
jolting residents awake and prompting them to flee in panic.
There were no reports of casualties as of late last night.
The quake was felt in the provincial capital of Padang, and
the Padang Pariaman and Pesisir Selatan regencies.
Erinaldi, a veterinarian in Padang, told The Jakarta Post by
telephone that the quake hit the city about 1 a.m. and lasted
about 15 seconds, followed immediately by a power blackout.
"After the first quake, many residents chose to stay outside
of their houses fearing aftershocks," he said, adding that there
were several aftershocks.
Sudadi, chief of the meteorology and geophysics office in
Padang Panjang, said yesterday the quake's epicenter was 70
kilometers west of Padang, or 125 km southwest of Padang
Pariaman, in the Indian Ocean.
Mentawai islands in the province were closest to the
epicenter, but the police subprecinct in Siberut, one of the
islands, could not be contacted yesterday.
Padang Pariaman Regent Nasrul Sahrun told the Post that
despite the strength of the earthquake, it caused no damage or
casualties in the regency.
"I just held a meeting with police, military authorities and
subdistrict heads to hear reports on the quake but neither
damages nor casualties were reported," he said.
Efliadi, chief security guard at the Pesisir Selatan
administration office in Painan, said the tremor shocked
residents, who were too afraid to return to their homes.
"But, to date, no casualties have been reported," he said,
adding that a search and rescue team had been formed as a
precaution.
On-duty Second Sgt. Wira Satria from Painan Police subprecinct
concurred, saying the rescue team included several police
officers who would be deployed if reports of casualties came in.
Yesterday's tremor was also felt in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
but no injuries or damages have been reported.
Antara quoted an official from Kuala Lumpur as saying that
residents in a condominium in Desa Petaling, in the suburb of
Kuala Lumpur, rushed out from their properties.
The news agency reported that the U.S. Geological Survey in
Washington said the quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.
The western part of West Sumatra lies on a fault line running
from Aceh to Bengkulu in Sumatra, through the south of Java, to
East Nusa Tenggara, Irian Jaya and Maluku.
The last earthquake affecting the western part of West Sumatra
occurred in August last year and no casualties were reported.
(rms)