Strong earthquake rocks central Indonesia
A strong earthquake rocked parts of central Indonesia today, damaging several houses and injuring two people.
The 5.3 magnitude quake was centred in the Flores Sea and struck at 3.53am Irish time, said Budi Waluyo of the National Earthquake Centre.
Police Sgt Wayan Wiryo said the quake damaged “several” houses and a port on the west side of Flores Island, about 1,000 miles east of the capital Jakarta.
State news agency Antara reported that two people on the island had been injured, but did not say how seriously.
The quake was also felt 170 miles away in the cities of Makassar on Sulawesi island and Kupang in West Timor. There were no immediate reports of damage on those islands.
Indonesia is prone to the earthquakes because of its location on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire.” In 1992, a devastating 7 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people on Flores.
