Monday, January 5, 2009

20090104 Four killed as quake strikes Indonesia's Papua

JAKARTA - A series of powerful earthquakes off the northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia, early on Sunday killed four people, injured several others and flattened buildings, officials and local television said.

Residents look at a hotel damaged after an earthquake in Manokwari, West Papua January 4, 2009. [Agencies]

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 7.6 quake occurred some 150 km (95 miles) northeast of Manokwari in the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea, at a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles). An official at Indonesia's meteorology agency said there were several quakes in the area during the night.

The quake triggered a small tsunami that hit the Japanese coast but there was no damage, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The Indonesian authorities also issued a tsunami warning for Papua, but lifted it shortly afterwards.

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