Indonesia Quake Off Sumatra Damages More Than 100 Houses

Alsharq Tribune- Amira Younes 

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, damaging more than 100 houses with no reports of casualties.

The tremor hit at 02:52 am local time (1952 GMT Thursday) at a depth of 68 kilometers (42.2 miles), with the epicenter offshore near Bengkulu province, according to the USGS.

The country's meteorological agency gave a higher magnitude of 6.0 with the epicenter at a depth of 84 kilometers, adding that there was no potential for a tsunami. The tremor damaged more than 100 houses and at least six public facilities in the provincial capital of Bengkulu city, Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, or BNPB, said in a press conference Friday.

"In Bengkulu city, 140 houses were affected (by the quake), eight of which collapsed, meaning (they) cannot be repaired," AFP quoted Abdul as saying. In the Central Bengkulu district, two houses were lightly damaged due to the quake, he added. Abdul said no casualties from the quake were reported as of Friday morning.