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Earthquake rattles Indonesia
26/07/2007 11:35 - (SA)
Jakarta - A 6.6-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's northeast on Thursday, rattling furniture and panicking residents, but a tsunami warning was cancelled and no damage or casualties were reported.
The earthquake, centred 57km under the seabed about 234km northwest of Ternate, struck at 13:40 prompting authorities to issue a warning that was withdrawn about 30 minutes later.
"I was sitting in my office when the chair started to rock," witness Huzaidin, who was working at the police headquarters in Ternate, told ElShinta radio.
"I looked at my glass and the water was also shaking so I thought, this is an earthquake. A few seconds afterwards there was a second shock and I ran outside. So did all my friends at the office."
Ternate is located about 2 270km northeast of Jakarta.
ElShinta also reported panic in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, with people rushing out of buildings, but there was no apparent damage or victims there either.
Jabar, an official with the meteorology agency in Jakarta, said the quake was felt at a strength of three to four on the Mercalli scale in both provincial capitals.
According to this measure the quake may have felt by some people outdoors, rocked vehicles, shaken dishes and windows and caused walls to make cracking noises.
Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which left 168 000 people in westernmost Aceh province dead.
The US National Weather Service also said there was no threat of a widespread tsunami after the strong earthquake was registered.
It said earthquakes of this magnitude sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the quake epicentre.
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