Earthquake kills one in eastern Indonesia

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dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday December 2, 2006

Jakarta- An earthquake off Indonesia's eastern island of Sumbawa late Friday killed one person, damaged many houses and buildings, and caused panic among residents, reports said Saturday. The quake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, had its epicentre 48 kilometres beneath the ground and struck 25 kilometres north of the island, some 1,350 kilometres east of Jakarta, the report said.

The quake was the latest of a series of quakes in the past year to rattle Indonesia, located in the Pacific volcanic belt known as the "Ring of Fire", where earthquakes and volcanoes are commonplace.

On May 27, a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, devastated the Javanese city of Yogyakarta and the surrounding areas, killing more than 5,700 people and injuring more than 37,000 others.

On December 2004, a 9.0 quake off the coast of north-west Sumatra triggered a tsunami that hit many countries in the Indian Ocean area and left more than 220,000 people dead.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency