20090902 Strong Indonesia quake kills 32, damages 1,300 homes

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn JAKARTA: A powerful earthquake killed at least 32 people and forced thousands to evacuate on Indonesia's main island, where more than 1,300 homes were damaged, government agencies said. The 7.0 magnitude quake, as recorded by the US Geological Survey, shook buildings in the capital Jakarta and flattened homes in villages closer to the epicentre in West Java. An official at the Social Ministry said that so far, 32 people had died, more than 700 houses were badly damaged and about 600 others had suffered moderate damage in the quake. "Communications with the coastal areas were completely cut, so we don't know the conditions there," he said. "No reports have come from those areas, although we assume those were the most affected ones. It's possible the death toll could grow higher." Hundreds of people sheltered in a military base in Tasikmalaya, fearing the initial temblor would be followed by aftershocks, an official at the disaster management agency said.