Indonesia quake kills 8 in Java, jolts Bali; no tsunami risk Ash-covered St. Vincent braces for more volcanic explosions
MALANG, Indonesia – A strong earthquake killed at least eight people, injured 23 others and damaged more than 300 buildings on Indonesia’s main island of Java and was also felt on the tourist hot spot of Bali, officials said Saturday. No tsunami warnings were posted.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.0 quake struck off the island’s southern coast at 2 p.m. local time. It was centered 28 miles south of Sumberpucung town of Malang District in East Java province, at a depth of 51 miles.
Rahmat Triyono, the head of Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami center, said the undersea tremblor did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.
This was the second deadly disaster to hit Indonesia in a week, after Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused a severe downpour last Sunday that killed at least 174 people and left 48 missing.
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Ash rained down across the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Saturday and a strong sulfur smell enveloped communities a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders.
Lush green Caribbean villages became a gloomy gray under a blanket of fine soot, which also hung in the air, obscuring the sun and creeping into homes, cars and noses.
Some ash fell as far away as Barbados, about 120 miles east of St. Vincent.
Nearby nations including Antigua and Guyana have offered help by either shipping emergency supplies or temporarily opening their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ashcovered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks.