VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Documentation: A resident of Enggano Island in Bengkulu Province checks a wire-mesh fence that protects the wall of his house. ANTARA/Sugiharto Purnama/aa - 

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Enggano Island in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu in the early hours of Saturday, but it did not trigger a tsunami.

The epicenter of the quake that struck at around 1:36 a.m. local time was located some 31 kilometers (km) away from the west of Enggano Island's waters, at a depth of 10 km.

"This earthquake does not trigger a tsunami," according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) as revealed on its official Twitter account.

No immediate reports were received of damages or casualties following the quake that struck the waters of the island located some 100 km away from southwest of Sumatra Island.

On June 4, 2000, a strong earthquake had also rattled Enggano Island and consequently claimed the lives of 94 local residents.

The deadly earthquake's epicenter was located some 90 km away from southwest of Tais City in Seluma District, Bengkulu Province, at a depth of 33 km.

Meanwhile, the earthquake of magnitude 5.9 that jolted southeast of Blitar District in East Java on Friday evening had damaged 30 houses in Malang District.

The damaged houses are found in the sub-districts of Ampelgading, Dampit, Donomulyo, Gondanglegi, Kalipare, Sumbermanjing Wetan, and Tirtoyudo, Acting Head of the Emergency and Logistics Unit at the Malang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Sadono stated.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

Sumatra and various smaller islands off its coastal areas are vulnerable to earthquake.

Aceh Province, located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, had experienced the deadliest ever earthquake, followed by a tsunami, on December 26, 2004.

The catastrophe that also affected certain coastal areas in countries, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, reportedly killed some 230 thousand people.

The latest deadly earthquake to have rattled Indonesia was in West Sulawesi Province on January 15, 2021.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, jolted the districts of Mamuju and Majene, claiming more than 100 lives and destroying several buildings//ANT