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Earthquakes kill four in Indonesia
Source: Agencies |
January 5, 2009, Monday
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A SERIES of powerful earthquakes shook remote eastern Indonesia yesterday, toppling or badly damaging more than 100 buildings and leaving at least four people dead and dozens injured.
The first, 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43am local time about 135 kilometers from Manokwari, the main city in Papua province, at a depth of 35 kilometers, the United States Geological Survey said.
It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
At least four people died in Papua, and the airport runway nearest the epicenter was cracked, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.
Panicked residents in Manokwari fled their homes in the dark fearing a tsunami, said Hasim Rumatiga, a local health official.
The Indonesian Meteorology and Seismology Agency issued a tsunami alert, but it was revoked within an hour after it was determined the epicenter of the main quake was on land.
A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people.
Quakes centered onshore pose little tsunami threat to Indonesia, but those close to the coast can churn up large waves that sometimes reach the coastlines of other countries such as Japan.
Power lines fell, cutting off electricity in and around Manokwari, and commercial flights to the area were canceled.
The National Disaster Coordination Agency said 135 houses and buildings were badly damaged or collapsed.
"I've instructed emergency steps be taken to help our brothers and to restore power and other vital utilities," Yudhoyono said.
The relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, which included canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said spokeswoman Katarina Hardono.
Indonesia straddles a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to seismic activity.
The first, 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43am local time about 135 kilometers from Manokwari, the main city in Papua province, at a depth of 35 kilometers, the United States Geological Survey said.
It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
At least four people died in Papua, and the airport runway nearest the epicenter was cracked, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.
Panicked residents in Manokwari fled their homes in the dark fearing a tsunami, said Hasim Rumatiga, a local health official.
The Indonesian Meteorology and Seismology Agency issued a tsunami alert, but it was revoked within an hour after it was determined the epicenter of the main quake was on land.
A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people.
Quakes centered onshore pose little tsunami threat to Indonesia, but those close to the coast can churn up large waves that sometimes reach the coastlines of other countries such as Japan.
Power lines fell, cutting off electricity in and around Manokwari, and commercial flights to the area were canceled.
The National Disaster Coordination Agency said 135 houses and buildings were badly damaged or collapsed.
"I've instructed emergency steps be taken to help our brothers and to restore power and other vital utilities," Yudhoyono said.
The relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, which included canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said spokeswoman Katarina Hardono.
Indonesia straddles a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to seismic activity.
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