BENGKULU HIT BY MAGNITUDE-5.4 EARTHQUAKE

Bengkulu, southern Sumatra, Sept. 17 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted Bengkulu, southern Sumatra, here, Thursday, at around 6.46 am local time.

The quake's epicenter was located at 4.17 degrees southern latitude and 102.53 degrees eastern longitude, around 94 km northwest of Bintuhan, Kaur District, Bengkulu Province, at a depth of 25 km below sea level, according to information from the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics office, on Thursday.

The temblor caused local residents in Bengkulu City, Kepahiayang District (Bengkulu Province), as well as Pagaralam (South Sumatra Province), to rush out of their houses in panic.

The earthquake, which could be felt by people at the second level of MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity), did not have potential to trigger a tsunami.

On the same day (Sept. 17), a temblor measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted around 66 km southeast of Siberutmentawai, West Sumatra, at 00.33 am local time.

Bengkulu was rocked by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake on September 12, 2007, which killed 15 people, injured 50 others and damaged more than 50,000 houses,
On September 8, 2009, Bengkulu and West Sumatra Provinces were shaken by earthquakes respectively measuring 5.0 and 5.2 on the Richter scale.

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

Last September 2, 2009, West Java was hit by a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake last which killed more than 70 people and damaged thousands of buildings.