5.5-Magnitude Earthquake Struck Off Western Indonesia, No Casualty Reported

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s western province of Banten yesterday, with no preliminary reports of damages or casualties, a weather agency and officials said.

The tremor was also felt in nearby province of West Java, and the country’s capital of Jakarta, said the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency.

The quake occurred at 17:02 Jakarta time (1202 GMT), with the epicentre at 26 km south-west of the Banten province’s district of Lebak, and 12 km under the seabed, the agency said.

It said, the quake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

Spokesperson of the Indonesian Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, Abdul Muhari, said that, there were no initial reports of damages or casualties, but the risk assessment of the impact of the quake is still underway.

“So far, we have not received information about houses or buildings damaged. But (our personnel) are still checking the impacts of the quake,” he said, by phone.

In Banten province, the tremor was felt, but briefly, said Nana Suryana, head of the operational unit of the provincial disaster management agency.

So far, there were no houses or buildings damaged or people injured after the quake. However, the assessment of the quake’s impact was still underway, the official said.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK