WORLD
5.8-magnitude quake jolts Java
Another tremor recalls the previous disastrous quake in the island
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's main island of Java on Thursday with no immediate reports of damage, less than a month after another quake in the same province killed more than 300 people.
The quake struck at 07:50 a.m. local time around 15 kilometers from the town of Cianjur, epicenter of November's devastating tremor, the United States Geological Survey said.
It said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage following the quake, which struck at a depth of 123 kilometers.
No damage was immediately reported in Cianjur or Sukabumi, the city nearest the epicenter, local disaster mitigation agency officials said Thursday.
But schools were temporarily evacuated in Sukabumi, according to local TV.
"The epicenter of the earthquake is in Sukabumi, so it was only lightly felt in Cianjur. No reports of damage to houses or casualties," Wawan Setawan, a disaster agency official in Cianjur, told AFP.
"We have yet to receive reports of damage caused by the earthquake," Imran Wardhani, an official in Sukabumi, said soon after the tremor.