Strong earthquake rocks Irian Jaya

Strong earthquake rocks Irian Jaya

JAKARTA: A powerful earthquake rocked parts of eastern
Indonesia yesterday but there were no immediate reports of damage
or casualties, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The quake measuring 6 on the Richter scale jolted the towns of
Serui and Nabire at around 1:40 a.m., said Aries, an agency
official, as quoted by Antara.

He said the quake was centered about 200 kilometers south of
Serui on Yapen Island, off the northern coast of Irian Jaya. "The
strongest hit was Nabire, but so far we have not received reports
of its impact," Aries said.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, is prone
to seismic upheaval because of its location on the so-called
Pacific "Ring of Fire," a chain of volcanoes and earthquake zones
circles the Pacific Ocean.

A magnitude 5 earthquake is capable of causing considerable
damage on populated areas.