Tremor jolts Padang, causes blackout

Tremor jolts Padang, causes blackout

PADANG, West Sumatra: An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale jolted the West Sumatra capital of Padang late Monday.

No fatalities were immediately reported, but the quake caused a blackout in Padang that lasted for more than an hour.

Sumarso, an official at the Padang Panjang Geophysics and Meteorology Agency, said the epicenter of the earthquake was located beneath Mount Tandikat, some 40 kilometers north of Padang.

An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in March last year in the same area. That quake destroyed 10 houses located on the slopes of the mountain.

Monday's earthquake comes two weeks after a quake in the Papua town of Nabire killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds of others. -- JP