EARTHQUAKE HITS SOUTH SUMATRA

Pagaralam, South Sumatra, June 11 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Pagaralam, South Sumatra Province, early Thursday, at 7.16 am local time.

The earthquake's epicenter was located at 4.99 degrees southern latitude, and 102.86 degrees eastern longitude, around 61 southwest of Bintuhan, Bengkulu, at a depth of 22 km below sea level, Dadang Praman, the Bengkulu meteorological and geophysics office, said on Thursday.

The earthquake was felt in Bintuhan at the first and second level of MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity), and at II-III MMI in Pagar Alam, and Lahat, South Sumatra.

"The temblor could be felt by local people, but it did not have potential to trigger tsunami," he said.

Meanwhile, in Pagaralam, the temblor caused local inhabitants to be panic stricken and forced them to rush out of their houses in fear of a more powerful aftershock.

"We panicked when the earthquake occurred, because the temblor was quite strong and shook lamps and furnitures," Adi, a guest of Telaga Biru Hotel in Pagaralam, said.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the edge of a tectonic plate prone to seismic upheaval.

In December 2004, a 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit Aceh (northern Sumatra) and Nias Island (North Sumatra Province) and triggered a deadly tsunami which devastated the two affected areas and killed around 200,000 people.

Last Wednesday (June 10), a 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Ambon, Maluku Province.The earthquake's epicenter was located 6.27 degrees eastern latitude, and 128.45 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 277 below seabed, around 295 southeast of Ambon.