Strong earthquake in Indonesia, heavy damage

Jakarta (IANS). A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the western province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This caused damage to houses and buildings. This information was given by an official of the meteorological agency.

Dwikorita Karnavati, head of the country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said the quake occurred at 19:57 on Friday evening. According to the agency, its epicenter was located 86 km northwest of Bantul district and at a depth of 25 km below sea level.

It added that tremors were also felt in nearby Central Java and East Java provinces.

The main tremor was followed by more than five aftershocks, Xinhua news agency reported.

The earthquake damaged houses and a hospital in Yogyakarta province, said Indro Sambodo, a senior member of the rapid response unit of the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency.

“Roofs were damaged on houses in Bantul district. Roofs fell off. In addition, parts of walls of a hospital suffered minor damage. Some houses along the coast also sustained minor damage,” he told Xinhua from Yogyakarta province. “