STORY: A series of quakes off the northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia,
early on Sunday killed
four people, injured several others, and flattened several buildings,
officials and local television said.
The U.S. 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.
Rescue teams were still looking for people trapped under buildings,
while hundreds of people had gathered at a football
stadium seeking medical aid for minor injuries, Elshinta radio reported.
Manokwari, with a population of about 161,000, is in a remote,
sparsely-populated part of Papua which attracts tourists
thanks to its diving sites, wildlife, including birds of paradise, and
spectacular scenery.
Predominantly Christian Papua, which occupies the western half of New
Guinea island, has fewer than 3 million inhabitants out of Indonesia's total
population of 226 million.
Several different tribes, some animist, live in this part of Indonesia,
which was under Dutch rule until 1963 and which,
despite its vast natural resources, tropical forests, and mineral wealth,
remains one of the poorest and least developed parts of the country.
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.
7015-INDONESIA-EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH
SORONG/MANOKWARI, PAPUA, INDONESIA
JANUARY 04, 2009
NATURAL WITH BAHASA INDONESIAN
DURATION:00:45
