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6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia

Posted at 1:44 PM, Dec 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-15 19:20:43-05

A strong earthquake hit Indonesia late Friday, authorities said.

The 6.5-magnitude quake was centered in Cipatujah, in the western part of Java, the US Geological Survey said, at a depth of 91.9 kilometers (about 57 miles).

Residents felt the quake about 190 miles away (305 kilometers) in the capital of Jakarta, where people briefly evacuated to the ground floor of their high-rises.

Tremors were also felt in the cities of Bandung, more than 63.5 miles away (102.1 kilometers) and Yogyakarta, more than 211 miles away (339.9 kilometers), authorities said.

A tsunami alert was issued after the quake, which Indonesian authorities recorded at 11:47 p.m. as 6.9 magnitude, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency.

The spokesman said a hospital was damaged in Banyumas, spurring the evacuation of more than 50 patients. But there have not been reports of deaths or major damage, the spokesman said.

Authorities were working to gather information about casualties.

Fears of a tsunami prompted people to evacuate their homes for higher ground, but there were no reports of tsunamis occurring along the southern coasts of western, central and eastern Java and the city of Yogyakarta.

The alert was lifted at 2:30 a.m., the spokesman said.

Residents were advised to return to their homes but seek temporary shelter if the dwellings aren't safe.

An earthquake on December 7, 2016, struck Indonesia's Aceh province in Sumatra and killed at least 100 people.

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