Multiple quakes jolt Indonesia, tsunami alert issued

Multiple quakes have jolted Indonesia's West Java province prompting authorities to issue a tsunami alert, disaster management officials said on Saturday.

The initial earthquake measuring 4.5-magnitude occurred in Sukabumi, 48 km southwest of West Java city, at 11.04 p.m. on Friday, at a depth of 50 km, reports Xinhua news agency.

A second earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred about 40 minutes later with the epicentre at 74 km southwest of Kawalu, at a depth of 105 km in the province's Tasikmalaya region.

A third earthquake with a 6.9 magnitude took place almost at the same time, also in Tasikmalaya with the epicentre located in 11 km southwest of Tasikmalaya at a depth of 107 km, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The agency issued tsunami warning in three provinces of West Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta after the second earthquake.

However the warning was called off earlier on Saturday.

Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said two people in West Java and Central Java province were killed, seven others injured and over 100 buildings damaged.

"Areas mostly affected the most by the earthquakes were Pangandaran, Tasikmalaya, Ciamis, Banjar, Garut, Cilacap, Kebumen, Pekalongan, Banyumas, Brebes and Banjarnegara," Sutopo said.

--IANS

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