Earthquake Shakes Indonesia's Java Island

By Brian Padden

Jakarta
02 September 2009

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia's Java island, and the government is reporting at least 33 deaths and more than 300 others injured. In the capital, buildings shook, but there was little damage.

In Jakarta people in a downtown shopping center panic as a powerful earthquake shakes the building around three in the afternoon.

Workers evacuated office buildings in the capital. Crowds of workers gathered on the street to wait for word that is was safe to go back inside.

A few hours after the quake, the government said about 5,000 people have been evacuated from areas closer to the epicenter, about 200 kilometers southeast of Jakarta.

There are reports of damage to some buildings, including government offices in the town of Tasikmalaya, about 115 kilometers from the epicenter.

Although there was little damage in Jakarta, many people were frightened by the quake.

Marga Anggrianto works in a 33-story building in the city center. He says he was sitting when he felt a sudden shake, then he realized it was an earthquake and left the building.

Retno Astrini works on the sixth floor of the building. She says she was scared because she thought the building might collapse.

Achmed Fauzi, who was on the 32nd floor of the building said no one panicked. He says the people were calm because the earthquake lasted only a short time.

A tsunami warning was issued for coastal areas in Java after the quake, but it was soon lifted.

Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes. In 2004, more than 170,000 Indonesians were killed by an earthquake and massive tsunami.