Warga Poso Panik Akibat Gempa 6,6 Magnitudo
6.6-magnitude Quake Hits Indonesia`s Sulawesi
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
GEMPA berkekuatan 6,6 skala Richter terjadi di Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah, Senin malam, mengakibatkan warga setempat panik namun belum ada laporan korban jiwa dan dampak kerusakan.
Pusat gempa berada di kedalaman sembilan kilometer (enam mil) pada pukul 22:35 waktu setempat di sebelah barat kota Poso, menurut Badan Survei Geologi Amerika Serikat.
Muhammad Guntur, yang tinggal di pinggiran kota, mengatakan bahwa gempa dirasakan dengan kuat.
"Warga di sini panik. Kita semua berkumpul di luar rumah," katanya kepada AFP setelah terjadi tiga kali gempa.
Seorang pegawai hotel di Poso juga mengatakan bahwa warga setempat panik saat gempa melanda namun situasi kemudian normal kembali.
"Listrik padam untuk sementara waktu," kata Buhory. "Orang-orang panik tapi sekarang sudah kembali tenang dan semuanya baik-baik saja."
Juru bicara Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho mengatakan, gempa tersebut dirasakan di Poso sekitar 20 detik namun belum ada laporan mengenai korban jiwa atau kerusakan.
Petugas BNPB setempat lokal masih memantau dan memeriksa dampaknya, tambahnya.
Indonesia berada di Pasifik "Ring of Fire" dimana lempeng tektonik bertabrakan, menyebabkan aktivitas seismik dan gunung berapi yang sering terjadi seperti dilansir MailOnline.
A SHALLOW, 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit inland on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi Monday, US seismologists said, causing people to panic but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake hit at a depth of nine kilometres (six miles) at 10:35 pm (1435 GMT), west of the town of Poso, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Muhammad Guntur, who lives on the outskirts of the town, said it was felt strongly.
"People are panicking here. We are now all gathered outside of our houses," he told AFP immediately after the impact.
A hotel worker in Poso also said that people panicked when the quake struck but that things had returned to normal there.
"The electricity was off for a while," said the worker Buhory, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "People were panicking but now it is on again and everything is okay."
National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt in Poso for about 20 seconds but there had been no reports so far of casualties or damage.
Local disaster agency officials were still assessing the impact, he added.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
An earthquake struck Indonesia's western Aceh province in December, killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
The quake hit in one of the areas worst affected by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
