Strong earthquake rocks Indonesia

Xinhua
Jakarta, Feb 25 (Xinhua) A powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Ritcher scale hit Indonesia's Bengkulu province off the western coast of Sumatra Monday, sparking a tsunami warning of the geophysics and meteorology agency.
"We have issued tsunami warning," an agency official Agung Mulya Utom said, adding that the quake was felt in Jakarta, some nearby provinces and also in Singapore.

According to a statement of the geophysics and meteorology agency, the quake struck at 15:36 Jakarta time with epicentre at 165 km south-west of Muko Muko town of the province and at 10 km under sea bed.

Metro TV news reported the earthquake caused widespread panic in the town, where several houses visibly cracked. There was no immediate report of casualties.

Twenty-three people were killed and thousands of buildings distrusted in September 2007 after a 7.9 magnitude quake rocked the same province.

Indonesia is laid at a vulnerable zone called "The Pacific Ring of Fire", where two continental plates, stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia, meet and cause frequent volcanic movements.