Strong earthquake jolts Central Sulawesi town

Strong earthquake jolts Central Sulawesi town

JAKARTA (JP): An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter
scale struck the Central Sulawesi town of Buol Tolitoli
yesterday, sending the panic-stricken people rushing outside.

An official at the National Meteorological and Geophysics
Office said the quake struck at 4.05 p.m. local time. Its
epicenter was off the Makassar Straits, some 125 kilometers north
of the provincial capital Palu. The epicenter was at a depth of
33 kilometers.

An earlier report from the Ujungpandang Meteorological and
Geophysics Office stated that the epicenter was at a depth of 120
kilometers.

No casualties were reported.

"The earthquake hit heavily three times in a row in Buol
Tolitoli," Regent Gumyadi was quoted by Antara as saying
yesterday.

The chief of the Donggala District Police, Lt. Col. Robby
Tasmaya, said he had received damage reports from the nearby
Bangkir subdistrict.

He said he was waiting for further reports.

Central Sulawesi Governor Abdul Aziz Lamadjido said 21 houses
were damaged.

The damage was done by both the earthquake and tidal waves and
there had been no reports of casualties, he added. (imn)