JAKARTA, INDONESIA // A series of powerful earthquakes has killed at least three people and injured dozens more in eastern Indonesia today, cutting power lines and badly damaging buildings. A 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4.43am local time, about 135km from Manokwari, Papua, at a depth of 35km, the US Geological Agency said. It was followed by 10 aftershocks and a second major 7.3-magnitude tremor that sent small tsunamis into Japan's south-east coast, but there were no reports of damage there. In Indonesia three bodies were found including a 10-year-old girl, a hospital director Hengky Tewu said. "Her head was crushed. We have our ambulances picking up two more," he said. Another 19 patients at the hospital were treated for broken bones, cuts, crushed fingers and other injuries. The Papua chief of police, Maj Gen Bagus Ekodanto, said he received reports that a hotel and rice warehouse had been "destroyed," but he did not know if anyone had died. Attempts were underway to search for possible victims. Several stories of the Mutiara Hotel in the main city Manokwari collapsed, said Ina, a nurse at a navy hospital treating 20 quake patients. Electricity went off and people in the coastal city of 167,000 fled their homes in the dark, fearing a tsunami, said Hasim Rumatiga, a local health official. The Indonesian Meteorology and Seismology Agency issued a tsunami alert, but it was revoked within an hour after it was determined the epicentre was on land. Japan's Meteorological Agency said tsunamis of 10cm to 40cm in height splashed ashore in towns along the coast. It also warned that bigger tsunamis were possible later. Television broadcasts of the coastal areas showed calm beaches and cars driving as normal on roads near the ocean. The damage in Indonesia was still be being assessed. "My son's head was wounded when a cabinet fell on him," said Ferry Dau, a father of two who said the walls in his house were cracked. "It was very strong and scary. The power and phones went dead after the utility lines fell down." Rahmat Priyono, a supervisor at the National Earthquake Center, said there was no immediate information on casualties or damage. "But since the epicentres were on land, they have a potential to cause significant damage." Relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, including canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said a spokeswoman Katarina Hardono. Papua, about 2,955km east of the capital Jakarta, has some of the nation's least developed territory. A low-level insurgency has simmered in the resource-rich region for years. Indonesia straddles a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to seismic activity. A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, more than half of them in Sumatra. * AP
Powerful quakes hit Indonesia
A series of strong earthquakes kills at least three people and injures dozens more in Indonesia, cutting electricity and badly damaging buildings.
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