Another quake hits Indonesian province

Last Updated: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 12:27:00 +1100

A strong earthquake rattled Indonesia's West Papua province early Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said.

The 6.1-magnitude quake was the latest in a series of powerful tremors and aftershocks to have hit the region since Sunday.

The shallow quake hit at 7:48 am just off the coast, some 75 kilometres west of the region's main city of Manokwari.

There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

Thousands of frightened residents have flooded makeshift refugee camps in the region since two powerful earthquakes flattened buildings and killed at least one person on Sunday.

Residents have been camping out in yards and streets outside their homes and there were some 14,000 refugees across the province, many of whom had fled to higher ground after an initial tsunami warning, officials said.

Hundreds of government and private buildings have been damaged by the quakes, as well as seven bridges, two of which collapsed.

The tremors have rekindled bitter memories of similar deadly quakes that hit Manokwari in 2002, as well as the Asian tsunami that killed 168,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province and Nias island in 2004.

Language News