JAKARTA: A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday (May 23), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, damaging more than 100 houses with no reports of casualties.
The tremor hit at 2.52am local time (7.52pm GMT on Thursday) at a depth of 68km, with the epicentre offshore near Bengkulu province, according to the USGS.
The country’s meteorological agency gave a higher magnitude of 6.0 with the epicentre at a depth of 84km, adding that there was no potential for a tsunami.
The tremor damaged more than 100 houses and at least six public facilities in the provincial capital of Bengkulu city, Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, or BNPB, said in a press conference on Friday.
“In Bengkulu city, 140 houses were affected (by the quake), eight of which collapsed, meaning (they) cannot be repaired,” Abdul said.
In the Central Bengkulu district, two houses were lightly damaged due to the quake, he added.
Abdul said no casualties from the quake were reported as of Friday morning.
Source: CNA
