Strong temblor rattles residents of Java
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong earthquake shook parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, causing panic but only minor damage just two weeks after an equally powerful quake killed hundreds.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.7 quake was centered about 11 miles southeast of Banjar, a city between West Java and Central Java provinces, at a depth of 70 miles.
One resident was injured in Selaawi village of West Java’s Garut district, and at least four houses and a school were damaged, said Suharyanto, the National Disaster Management Agency head who goes by one name. He said authorities were still collecting information about the damage.
Apart from the one injured, by Saturday evening there were no other casualties reported from all 42 villages in Garut, one of the closest districts to the epicenter, said Rudi Gunawanthe, the district chief. Many houses suffered minor damage.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. The agency put a preliminary magnitude at 6.4.