A strong earthquake on the Indonesian main island of Java has killed at least eight people, injured 23 others and damaged more than 300 buildings, officials said Saturday in Bali. No tsunami alert was issued.
The US Geological Survey said the quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, struck the southern coast of the island at 2:00 pm local time (0700 GMT). Its center was 82 kilometers (51 miles) deep, 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of the city of Sambarbung in the Malang district of East Java.
Rahmat Tryono, director of the Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Center, said in a statement that the quake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. Nevertheless, he urged people to stay away from the slopes as rock slides are likely to occur.
Hurricane Serja killed at least 174 people and left 48 missing, making it the second deadliest disaster to hit Indonesia this week. Some victims were buried in mud or solidified volcanic eruptions from the November eruption, while others were washed away by flash floods. Thousands of homes were damaged
Rathiya Jati, a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Organization, said a woman was killed on a motorcycle and her husband was seriously injured in Saturday’s quake in Lumajang district.
A spokesman said dozens of houses had been damaged across the district and rescuers had recovered two bodies from the rubble in the village of Kali Uling. Authorities also confirmed the deaths of two people in an area near Lumajang and Malang districts, while one person was found dead under the rubble in Malang.
Indonesia, an archipelago with a population of 270 million, is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
In January, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people, injured at least 6,500 and evacuated more than 92,000 after shaking the Mamuju and Majene districts of East Sulawesi province.
