Strong quake sparks fears of tsunami

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.