Bernama.com

General

October 02, 2007 15:50 PM

6.4
Magnitude Earthquake Sends Bengkulu Residents
Scampering

JAKARTA, Oct 2
(Bernama) -- Most residents of Bengkulu town in Southern
Sumatra scampered to save themselves when a 6.4 magnitude
earthquake rocked the region at 10.45am local time
Tuesday.

According to Indonesian authorities, the quake
could potentially trigger a tsunami and they advised the 1.6
million people in the region to be on alert.

"The
strong quake could be felt even though it occurred less than
twenty seconds but we scampered out of our offices, shops and
houses fearing the buildings would collapse," government
employee Suriyadi told Bernama by phone.

After 30
minutes, he said, all the workers returned to their offices
and the rest went about their daily business.

The
tectonic earthquake occurred 159km southwest of Lais which was
among areas worst hit by the 8.2 and 7.7 magnitude quakes on
Sept 12 and 13.

The Indonesian Meteorology and
Geophysics Agency said the quake's epicentre was at a depth of
20km.

"The quake, based to our analysis, has the
potential to generate a tsunami to the point of it needs to be
informed to the people living in regions near the epicentre,"
Antara news agency quoted the Lampung Maritime Meteorology
Station head St Yulianto as saying.

So far, no reports
of casualties or damage were reported.

--
BERNAMA

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