Powerful Java quake sparks panic
A strong earthquake shook Indonesia’s densely populated Java island yesterday, killing two people and severely damaging dozens of homes near the epicentre.
The magnitude 6.5 quake struck at 11.47pm local time and was felt across the island, including about 200 kilometres away in the capital, Jakarta, where office towers and apartment buildings swayed. Powerful tremors lasted as much as 30 seconds in places.
Panicking people ran out of buildings in many areas, and roads were clogged with motorcycles, cars and trucks as people fled coastal areas in fear of a tsunami.
Ahmad Solihin, a food vendor in a coastal area of the Sukabumi region, said his village was jolted by a 20-second tremor that cracked walls in his home.
He fled on his motorbike with his wife and two children after neighbours shouted that water was coming, he said. ‘‘People suddenly started running, so I joined them.’’
More than 1000 villagers in his area evacuated to higher ground and didn’t return until several hours later, after authorities convinced said.
A 62-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman were killed in building collapses, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Damage was heaviest in the Tasikmalaya, Pangandaran and Ciamis regions of West Java Province, near the epicentre.
More than 40 houses collapsed and about 65 suffered severe damage, Nugroho said.
The earthquake was about 91km deep and located just inland, the United States Geological Survey said. It triggered a tsunami warning for parts of Java’s coastline, but this was lifted about two hours later. No significant waves were reported.
Several hospitals were damaged by the shaking, and patients were evacuated.
Indonesia sits on the ‘‘Pacific Ring of Fire’’ and has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. them it was safe, he