JAKARTA: Indonesia’s disaster agency said a powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java has killed at least one person and briefly displaced more than 1,000 coastal-dwellers.
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning within minutes of 6.8-magnitude quake on Friday night. People living along the coastline fled to higher ground following the warning.
The strong quake was felt in the capital Jakarta sending people out of high-rise buildings.
The disaster mitigation agency in a statement said, one person died of a heart attack amid the panic in the province of Banten on Java and at least four others sustained injuries.
The agency said people who took to higher ground, including about 1,000 taking shelter in the gubernatorial office in the Lampung province, had returned home.
The quake destroyed 34 houses and caused minor damage to dozens of other buildings, the agency said.
The US Geological Survey put the epicenter in the Indian Ocean about 227 km (141 miles) from the city of Teluk Betung on Sumatra.
(Agencies)
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