Earthquake of magnitude 6.0 hits Indonesia; no casualty reported, buildings damaged in Java

Jakarta: A moderately strong earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Java on Tuesday, damaging buildings near the epicentre and shaking office buildings in the country’s capital. There were no immediate reports of injuries and no tsunami was generated. According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 6.0 quake was centred off western Java at a depth of about 43 kilometres (27 miles). The epicentre was about 153 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Jakarta, the capital. [caption id=“attachment_4315873” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] An Indonesian security officer on his radio as people evacuate from buildings after an earthquake in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday. AP[/caption] Zainal, who heads Banten province’s search and rescue agency, said the quake damaged houses and other buildings in Lebak district, including a high school and hospital, and a mosque in Pandeglang district collapsed. Buildings in the capital swayed for 10 to 20 seconds and some ordered evacuations, sending streams of people into the streets. TVOne television showed workers and shoppers running out of a mall in central Jakarta in panic. Witnesses told TVOne that houses were damaged in coastal areas of West Java, where many people ran to higher ground, fearing a tsunami. Indonesia’s Department of Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics said the quake didn’t have the potential to generate a tsunami and no warning was issued. Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, straddles the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.