Strong quake rocks Bengkulu

BENGKULU: Bengkulu province was rocked by a tectonic quake measuring 5.36 on the Richter scale on Saturday at 7:16 a.m. West Indonesia Standard Time, Antara reported on Sunday.

Kepahyang geophysical station chief in Bengkulu, Armien Paimin, said the shocks were quite violent in areas southeast of Kepahyang district, Rejang Lebong, Bandarlampung and Kotabumi.

Separately, from Bandung, West Java, it was reported that an earthquake felt by residents in several parts of Sumatra and West Java on Saturday morning was not linked to activities of the volcano Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait.

A spokesman for the Meteorological and Geophysical Agency in Jakarta said on Saturday night that the quake's epicenter was 80 km deep in the Indian Ocean, about 350 km west of Jakarta.

The quake measured 6.0 on the Richter scale was located at 6.65 degrees south latitude and 103.99 degrees east longitude, the agency said.

There was no immediate report on casualties or material losses caused by the quake.

The agency recorded that the quake was felt by people living in Jakarta and Bandung with a Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) of two and in Kotabumi and Bengkulu, both in Sumatra, as MMI two to MMI three.

Earthquakes with a magnitude of five can cause considerable damage, while those of six can lead to severe destruction.

Indonesia, comprising thousands of islands which are part of a so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, is prone to earthquakes.