Earthquake in Indonesia: 1 dead, 45 injured

Last night (November 25), a 6.7-magnitude quake struck off the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia, killing 1 person and injuring 45 people.

The Indonesian Meteorological Agency said the magnitude 6.7 earthquake, however, the US Geological Supervision Agency (USGS) then said the magnitude 6.4 earthquake.

According to USGS, the earthquake occurred at 2302 on November 25, 44 km west of Raba province, at a depth of 30 km under the sea. Local newspapers said dozens of buildings in the area were damaged or destroyed. Power is cut.

"One person died and 45 were injured," Rustam Pakaya, the Indonesian Ministry of Health spokesman, said, adding that the dead were a 5-year-old boy. According to Suriyani, a hospital official in Dompu district, the hospital is treating 17 wounded, most of the victims were hit by the wall. 'Among them are two seriously injured, with head injuries and broken bones , ' she said.

The earthquake and the 5.0-magnitude aftershock that occurred one hour later caused panic at Raba town hospital, about 50 km from Dompu . 300 patients at the hospital were evacuated twice, but there were no reports of casualties in this area.

'All the patients in the hospital panicked and rushed out, they felt the earthquake was very strong,' a witness named Nining recalled. People on the nearby tourist islands of Lombok and Bali also felt the earthquake. 'I felt the shaking happen for almost a minute,' said Hariono, a local resident in Lombok.

The Indonesian meteorological agency said a tsunami warning was issued, but this warning was not sent to the media in writing as usual for technical reasons.

Indonesia is located on the Pacific fire belt, so geological and volcanic activities are frequent. During the 2004 tsunami earthquake, Indonesia was the hardest hit with 168,000 people killed in Aceh province alone.

(Photo: AFP)

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