Strong earthquake hits tourist island of Bali
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Xinhua, October 13, 2011
A shallow undersea quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale rocked tourist resort of Bali province of Indonesia on Thursday, injuring at least 43 people, six of whom were serious and damaging buildings, officials said.
"So far 43 people victim of the quake have been rushed here, five of them have been treated at the emergency unit because of broken bone and bruise, "Ni Wayan Suki, press officer at the Sanglah General Hospital in Bali told Xinhua by phone. One foreign tourist was also injured, Disaster Management and Mitigation official in Bali province, Wayan Suki told Xinhua by phone.
The shakes of the quake could be felt in nearby provinces of East Java and West Nusa Tenggara, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics agency named only Apprillianto told Xinhua.
The quake struck at 10: 16 a.m. Jakarta time (0316 GMT) with epicenter at 143 km southwest Nusadua of Bali and with the depth at 10 km under sea bed, he said.
The intensity of the quake was felt at 4 to 5 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) at coastal tourist resort of Kuta of Bali province and Mataram of West Nusa Tenggara province, 3 to 4 MMI in Madura island of East Java province, he said.
The USGS reported on its website that the quake was measured at 6.0 magnitude.
In coastal area of Kuta Bali, one of the hardest hit areas, the quake had caused the roofs of school and office buildings fallen, Wayan Suki said.
"People have been panic so that they have harshly escaped office buildings, houses and other buildings," he said.
Nevertheless, in the others hardest hit area, Mataram of West Nusa Tenggara province there had been no immediate reports of damages or injured, said Lili Widyanti, the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency official told Xinhua by phone.
On Wednesday, Nations along the Indian Ocean tested the first full-scale tsunami early warning system installed after the massive tsunami in Dec. 2004, that killed more than 230,000 people, Head of Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency Sri Woro B Harijono told Xinhua on Thursday.
Indonesia, homed by 129 active volcanoes, is prone to earthquake as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called " the Pacific Ring of Fire" where two continental plates stretching from Japan to Western hemisphere meet that frequently cause seismic and volcanic movements.
