5.9-magnitude quake strikes Indonesia's Java


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SUKABUMI: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's most-populated island on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake struck 96 kilometres (59 miles) southwest of Sukabumi in western Java after 6:00 pm (1100 GMT) at a depth of 67 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

"The quake was quite strong but we have no reports yet of casualties or damage. We will monitor the affected area," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Nugroho said the quake struck around 50 kilometres offshore and that activities in Sukabumi had "gone back to normal".

An AFP correspondent in Sukabumi said the quake lasted around three minutes and that residents ran from their homes in panic.

The quake was also felt in the capital Jakarta around 200 kilometres northeast of the epicentre.

The Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysics Agency earlier measured it as a 6.1-magnitude quake with a depth of 24 kilometres.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. (AFP)