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)