Four dead in Papua quake
2009-01-04 12:59
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Jakarta - A series of powerful earthquakes
off the northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia, early on
Sunday killed four people, injured several others and flattened
buildings, officials and local television said.
The US Geological Survey said a magnitude 7.6
quake occurred some 150km northeast of Manokwari in
the Indonesian half of the island of Hotels collapse after New Guinea, at a depth of
35km.
An official at Indonesia's meteorology
agency said there were several quakes in the area during the
night.
"Hotel Mutiara and tens of houses are flattened to the
ground," Pitsau Amafnini, an eyewitness, told Reuters.
Manokwari, with a population of about 161 000, is in a
remote, sparsely-populated part of Papua which attracts
tourists thanks to its diving sites, wildlife and spectacular scenery.
Small tsunami
The quake triggered a small tsunami that hit the Japanese
coast but there was no damage, Japan's Meteorological Agency
said.
The Indonesian authorities also issued a tsunami warning
for Papua, but lifted it shortly afterwards.
Indonesia is located in an area of intense seismic activity
known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and frequently experiences
quakes and tsunami warnings.
A 9.15 magnitude earthquake on December 26 2004 triggered a
massive tsunami, killing about 230 000 people in Indonesia,
Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries around the Indian
ocean.
Priyadi Kardono, spokesperson for the disaster management
centre, said that the health ministry had confirmed four deaths
from the quakes, while several buildings were damaged.
Metro TV
reported that six people had been hospitalised.
"Two hotels collapsed, Mutiara Hotel and Kali Dingin Hotel.
Two bank buildings, a storage of (national logistics agency)
Bulog, and the official house of the head of the regency were
also damaged," Kardono said.
"There were no casualties from Kali Dingin Hotel and three
trapped victims inside the Mutiara Hotel have been rescued," he
said, adding that about a thousand people had gathered at
certain locations in the town seeking shelter.
- Reuters