7.4-magnitude quake strikes off central Indonesia, over 230 houses damaged

JAKARTA - A 7.4-magnitude earthquake jolted off East Nusa Tenggara province in central Indonesia on Tuesday, damaging over 230 houses, a bridge and buildings, Indonesia's weather agency and a disaster official said.

A minor tsunami was detected after the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning, but it was lifted two hours after the quake as there was no major tsunami identified, the agency's head Dwikorita Karnawati told a press conference.

The powerful quake jolted at 10:20 am Jakarta time (0320 GMT), with the epicenter 113 km northeast of Larantuka sub-district in East Flores district and a depth of 10 km under the seabed, the agency noted.

The tremor only triggered a 7-cm wave in the districts of Nagekeo and Manggarai, Karnawati said, confirming that the agency lifted the tsunami warning two hours later.

More than 20 aftershocks with the strongest magnitude of 5.6 followed the main shock, she added.

The National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency's acting spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement that over 230 houses, one bridge, one building and one place of worship were badly damaged in Selayar Island district, South Sulawesi province.

One person was wounded in Manggarai district, East Nusa Tenggara province, head of the province's emergency unit Richard Elt said, adding that he was informed by an official of the disaster agency of South Sulawesi province.

"The quake caused panic. One man was wounded as he fell down when he was rushing outside a building. Our fellows in South Sulawesi informed us that scores of houses were damaged in Selayar Island district. We have a WA (WhatsApp) group," he told Xinhua over phone.

Indonesia has been frequently hit by earthquakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."