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)