Quake rattles Indonesia’s capital, but no damage apparent

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A strong earthquake Monday morning rattled part of Indonesia’s main island of Java and swayed buildings in the capital, but caused no apparent damage or casualties.

Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for tremors to be felt in Jakarta. Residents in high-rises around the city of nearly 10 million people felt a few seconds of swaying. Even two-story homes shook strongly in the satellite cities of Bekasi and Depok.

“I was awakened by the tremor and was horrified to see the lights and furniture in my room swinging,” said Risma Defriana, a Jakarta resident who lives on the 17th floor of an apartment building.

No damage or casualties were reported in Sukabumi, the closest town to the epicenter, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-5.6 quake was centred in the Indian Ocean, about 97 kilometres (60 miles) south-southwest of the West Java town of Cibungur with a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles).

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said the quake was a stronger magnitude-6.3 but had no potential to cause a tsunami.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to the seismic upheaval and tsunamis due to its location on major geological faults known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia’s Aceh province.