Powerful Quake Rocks Indonesian Island

Jan 23, 2005
AP News

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful earthquake rocked parts of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island early Monday, damaging around 30 houses, officials said. No injuries were immediately reported.

The epicenter of the 6.2-magnitude quake was initially determined to be over the central part of Sulawesi, about 10 miles southwest of the city of Palu, said Suharjono, a seismologist in Jakarta.

"It was very strong. I felt the bed and the ground shaking and rushed out of my house. I saw everyone panicking," said Huwal Hayun, a 19-year-old student in Palu.

Around 30 wooden houses on the outskirts of the city were damaged, said police Sgt. Fandi Tuna. Several shops in Palu were damaged and cracks appeared in the streets, another police officer said.

Suharjono, who goes by a single name, said it was very unlikely that the quake would cause a tsunami because it was not centered below the sea.

Palu is 1,000 miles northeast of the capital, Jakarta.

Monday's temblor was centered thousands of miles from Sumatra island, which was hardest hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake that triggered a tsunami and killed more than 160,000 people in 11 countries.

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