Strong quake jolts Jakarta, West Java
JAKARTA (JP): A powerful earthquake struck Jakarta and several areas in the neighboring province of West Java on Tuesday night, sending people streaming out of their houses in panic.
There were no immediate reports of any damage.
The Agency of Meteorology and Geophysics said the magnitude of the earthquake was six on the open-ended Richter scale with the epicenter located at a spot in the Indian Ocean, some 50 kilometers south of Ujung Kulon, West Java.
"A string of 12 aftershocks were recorded for about half an hour after the first one," Dadang Permana, head of the agency's Geophysics Data Processing Section told The Jakarta Post.
He said it was a tectonic earthquake. Therefore, he strongly believed no fresh earthquakes would occur with the same force as the first.
The agency's seismographic meter recorded the earthquake taking place at exactly 9:15 p.m. and lasting for five minutes.
"People only felt the quake for 10 seconds," he added.
"The epicenter was at the meeting point between Australia's and Eurasia's tectonic plates. The site has often struck by quakes but this one is the most powerful," Dadang said.
People in Jakarta, particularly those in multistory offices, apartments, and hotels rushed out onto the streets when the earthquake hit.
Similar hysteria was also reported in the West Javanese capital of Bandung and other towns, including those in the western coastal area of the province, such as Labuan.
In Labuan, some 160 kilometers southwest of Jakarta, the tremor was very strong. People rushed out of their homes in panic, which increased as the electricity company also cut power supplies for some time.
Darwiyanti and her husband A Fong told the Post people fled from their homes as their refrigerators and shelves shook.
"Glasses and dishes fell to the floor and smashed into pieces," Darwiyanti said.
"Many people are still gathering outside their homes for fear of a possible new tremor," she said.
She said there were no report of casualties, but the wall of a boarding house had cracked and collapsed onto neighbors' houses.
In Tanjung Lesung, a newly developed resort area, security guard Maman at the Tanjung Lesung Resort Hotel said none of the buildings in the complex were damaged.
"Only the lights shook," he said.
In Jakarta, Slamet Pujiono, a night security guard at the 46- story BNI tower on Jl. Sudirman -- the tallest building in the country -- said the building was undamaged.
"But I saw dozens of people running out from the Fashion Cafe (in the basement of another tower in the BNI complex) in panic," Slamet said.
At Jakarta Theater cinema on Jl. Thamrin, scores of moviegoers hastily left the showing of The World is not Enough.
"But still some people risked their lives inside the cinema to watch the movie," staffer Mamat Surya said.
Poppy, a front desk officer at the Jakarta Hilton International Hotel, said some guests showed signs of panic but it only lasted for a few minutes.
"It wasn't really strong on the first floor here, but some of the upper floors must have felt it stronger," she said.
"But there have been no complaints or reports of serious shock from our guests."
There was no reported electrical or structural damage to the 16-story hotel.
A similar panic was also recorded at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. (04/01/emf/ylt/asa/akm/bsr)