5.7-magnitude quake hits Indonesia’s Java Island

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, shaking the same town devastated by a quake in November that left more than 330 people dead.

The quake struck on land at a depth of 112km, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

The country’s meteorological agency, known as BMKG, gave a higher magnitude of 6.4 for the quake, which also shook buildings in the capital Jakarta, according to an AFP journalist. BMKG chief Daryono later told the Xinhua news agency over the phone that the magnitude was revised to 6.1.

The agency said the tremor caused buildings to shake in the West Java town of Garut and warned residents near the epicentre to beware of potential aftershocks. But there was no threat of a tsunami, it said.

A witness in Bandung, the capital of West Java, said guests of a hotel ran out of the building but have since returned inside.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates collide.

In November, a shallow 5.6-magnitude tremor hit the town of Cianjur, in West Java, killing 331 people, injuring thousands and leaving tens of thousands homeless after it collapsed buildings and triggered landslides.

Residents of the town were shaken again by Saturday’s quake and it caused some roofs to be lightly damaged, local military official Haryanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told Indonesian broadcaster Kompas. ‘It made us feel like we were swaying. We could see hanging lamps swaying,’ he said.

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