JAKARTA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
said that there would be more victims in Bengkulu Province after the 7.9 Ritcher
scale earthquake hit the area on Wednesday, as the province was the closest with
the epicenter.
An official of the agency Dwi Haptanto said that the province suffered the
most intensity of the quake of 5 to 6 MMI (modified mercally intensity), a range
of scale that enable to collapse building.
"Bengkulu is the nearest with the center of the quake. The quake was felt
at 5 to 6 MMI in the province," he told Xinhua.
Indonesian Disaster Management Agency said it still could not know the
number of victims, as the telecommunication and electricity facilities were
fully paralyzed in the province in the Sumatra Island.
Haptanto said that the quake was felt at 3 to 4 MMI in Padang city, the
capital of West Sumatra province, Sibolga in Nias Islandof North Sumatra
province and Riau, Lampung Provinces.
The quake was also felt at Jakarta, West Java Province and Palembang, the
capital of South Sumatra Province, he said.
The quake struck at 18:10 Jakarta time (1110 GMT) with epicenter at 159
kilometers southwest Bengkulu city, the capital of Bengkulu province in Sumatra
Island and at 10 kilometers under seabed, an official of the agency said.
The agency has issued tsunami warning.
Indonesia is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called, "the Pacific
Ring of Fire," where two continental plates meet causing frequent seismic and
volcanic movements.
