ONE-METER HIGH TSUNAMI OFF PAMEUNGPEUK COAST FOLLOWING QUAKE

Jakarta, Sept 02 (ANTARA) - A tsunami rising up to one meter high happened off the coast of Pameungpeuk, Garut, West Java, at 3 pm on Wednesday, following the 7.3 earthquake centered near Tasikmalaya.

"People were warned of a possible tsunami, and a one-meter high tidal wave really happened off the Pameungpeuk coast but the warning has now been lifted," the head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysiscs Agency (BMG), Sri Woro Harijono, said here on Wednesday.

Woro said a tsunami early warning system (TEWS) at Pelabuhanratu, Sukabumi, sounded an alarm for about 10 seconds but it then stopped.

She admitted the quake whose epicenter was located in the Indian Ocean, about 30 kilometers below sea level, 142 kilometers southwest of Tasikmalaya, was very powerful and was even felt in places as far as Bali.

The quake was also felt in Yogyakarta and Semarang, Central Java. It was felt the most in Java's southern coastal regions such as Tasikmalaya, Garut, Ciamis, Cianjur and Sukabumi.

In Tasikmalaya, the quake dislodged the tiles from the roof of the mayor's office. A number of people were reported killed because of the quake.

Two fatalities were reported in Sukamanah, Pangalengan, Bandung district. Twelve bodies meanwhile were discovered after the quake in Cianjur. Six of them died after being buried by a landslide that occurred moments after the quake.
Employees in high-rise buildings in the capital city of Jakarta fled after the quake for fear of repeat tremors, crowding areas around them to hinder traffic flows that led to traffic jams in many parts of the city. ***3***