Powerful quake rocks Indonesia

Jakarta, Aug 09:

A powerful earthquake estimated 7.5 on the Richter scale rocked western Java Island of Indonesia early on Thursday, causing panic in capital Jakarta but there were no reports of casualties and no risk of tsunami. The quake struck at 12.04 am (1704 GMT Wednesday) with epicentre at 75 km northwest of Indramayu, West Java province, and at a depth of 286 km, an official of the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake could not generate a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, as it was located too deep inside the earth. Many people ran out of their houses in panic after the quake. "I am scared that the building could break down and hit us," said Ana, who lives in an apartment building in the Indonesian capital.

"I just had a phone call with my girlfriend in the United State when the earthquake happened," Rob Sheridan who lives in the Puri Imperium Apartment said. "The floor was wobbling. I was shocked and immediately ran to the open ground from the 29th floor."

Indonesia is located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an extremely seismically active region where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common. Indonesia experienced two quake-triggered tsunamis in December 2004 off Sumatra Island, which killed hundreds of thousands of people in Aceh province.