JAKARTA. 16 Dec 2017:
A powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the island of Java in Indonesia just before midnight – with authorities reporting two deaths and damage to scores of buildings.
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 92km – about 52km southwest of Tasikmalaya.
Indonesia’s national disaster management agency said the quake activated early tsunami warning systems in the south of Java, prompting evacuations in some coastal areas, but no tsunami was detected.
Tremors were felt in central and west Java and a series of aftershocks stoked panic.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the disaster agency, said in a statement today two people had been killed, seven injured and more than 100 buildings damaged, including a hospital in Central Java.
About 70 patients had to be helped to safety from the Banyumas Hospital and were given shelter in tents, he said.
He posted on his Twitter page photos of people scouring collapsed buildings.
Indonesian news agency Antara reported that a 62-year-old man was killed in Ciamis (in the Tasikmalaya district) after his house collapsed as a result of the quake.
The quake swayed buildings for several seconds in the capital Jakarta.
Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency said a magnitude 5.7 quake early today also struck south of West Java. It said the quake did not have tsunami potential.
Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island, is home to more than half of its 250 million people.