Strong quake sparks fears of tsunami
Andi Hajramurni and Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Kendari
A powerful earthquake rocked parts of Sulawesi island on Saturday, causing the tide to rise and sparking fears of a tsunami.
Thousands of affected villagers fled their homes and ran onto the streets in panic. But there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Buton island at around 8:04 a.m., with the epicenter some 71 miles southwest of the town of Bau Bau, Southeast Sulawesi, and at least 33 kilometers beneath the sea, meteorologists said.
They added that the epicenter was close to the islands of Batu Atas and Simpede.
Residents said the quake caused the tide to rise by up to three meters, but it did not hit the nearby island, which is some 300 miles from the provincial capital of Kendari.
The rising tide caused panic among thousands of residents in Bau Bau and Buton regency, who rushed to seek shelter on higher ground in the area of Benteng Kraton Buton, which is some 100 meters above sea level.
Irwan, a resident of Baubau, said the quake hit for two minutes, prompting him and other locals to flee their homes in panic.
"But people have returned home now and the sea is calm," he said.
Similarly, Salam, a student with the Haluoleo University in the town, said the strong tremor left cracks in the walls of some affected houses.
The quake was felt in the neighboring province of South Sulawesi, where brief panic also engulfed thousands of people who feared another tidal wave after the tremor.
The affected areas included the province's capital city of Makassar, particularly near Losari beach and the Makassar Strait.
"I was extremely shocked when water in the pail suddenly moved and poured out... I later realized it was an earthquake. I then fled from the house because I was afraid of stronger aftershocks," said Syarifuddin, a resident of Jl. Kumala in Makassar.
His neighbor, Meli, said she was in bed when the quake occurred. "I felt my bed shaking although there was no one around me. I woke up immediately and I felt another tremor, so I ran straight into the street."
Dwi Budi Susanti, a meteorologist in Makassar, said the quake was also felt in the neighboring regencies of Gowa, Bulukumba, Sinjai and Pare-Pare city.
He said he received no reports of injuries or damage caused by the quake, which according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was not related to the massive magnitude-9.0 quake that devastated Aceh and parts of North Sumatra on Dec. 26.
Although powerful, Saturday's quake was much less strong than the Dec. 26 quake that triggered a tsunami killing more than 169,000 people across southern Asia and eastern Africa, the USGS said as quoted by AP.
It added that the Sulawesi quake was unlikely to cause a large tsunami.
Meanwhile, a strong aftershock measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale rattled Aceh on Saturday, meteorologists said, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The offshore quake occurred at 2:33 a.m. in the Indian Ocean, 161 kilometers west of Banda Aceh, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta told AFP.
Aceh has been hit by more than 200 aftershocks in the nearly eight weeks since the disaster, although most have registered under five on the Richter scale.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago, lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
The country has at least 129 active volcanoes, and earthquakes and tremors are frequent.