An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 jolted Sulawesi Tenggara in eastern part of Indonesia on Friday, but there was no report of damage or casualties, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and Disaster management Agency said.
The quake was felt up East Java and Bali island, an official of the agency Beny Henrawanto told Xinhua.
The quake struck at 08:51 a.m. Jakarta time (0151 GMT) with epicenter at 234 km southeast Baubau and 670 km under sea bed, the official said.
The intensity of the quake was felt at 3 MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) at Kupang and its surrounding area, he said.,
Spokesman of the disaster management agency Priyadi Kardono said that the quake did not cause any damage or casualty, as the center of the quake was very deep. "We have checked a the hit-areas, there were no building damage or somebody hurt," he told Xinhua.
The archipelago country with over 230 million population is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone, the so called "Pacific Ring of Fire", where two continental plates, stretching from Western hemisphere to Japan meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic movements.
(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2009)
