The Jakarta Post, 1/30/2006 2:45:56 PM
Moderate earthquake jolts Nias island
JAKARTA (DPA): A moderate-strength earthquake rocked Nias Island off the western
coast of Indonesia's North Sumatra province Monday, but there were no immediate
reports of injuries or damage, a meteorological official said.
The 5.0-magnitude temblor struck Nias and nearby areas at about 11:35 a.m. (04:35
GMT), said Hendra, an official at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG).
Hendra said the earthquake's epicenter was about 47 kilometers south-west of Nias'
capital, Gunung Sitoli, at a depth of about 33 kilometers.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage from the quake, said
Hendra.
Nias and nearby islands have experienced hundreds of earthquakes and aftershocks
since a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the island in late March 2005,
leaving more than 600 people dead and injuring thousands of others.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to earthquakes because of
its location on an arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches encircling the Pacific Basin.
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