An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale rattled an area 159 km southeast of Polewali district in South Sulawesi on Sunday, ANTARA quoted an official saying. The epicenter of the tremblor which shook the area at 2 p.m. was traced at 4.84 degrees south latitude and 124.06 degrees east longitude and located in a depth of 77 km, a Lampung meteorological and geophysics agency (BMG) official said here Sunday. Meanwhile, a tremor which had a magnitude of 4.6 on the Richter scale shocked Mataram, the capital of West Nusatenggara province, Saturday night. The Mataram BMG official, Suparno, said the minor quake which shook Mataram at 11.57 p.m. had an epicenter 8.75 degrees south latitude and 115.44 degrees east longitude. The tremblor was located 21 km southeast of Sanur, Bali island, and in a depth of 45 km. Saturday night`s minor quake was the first in Mataram following a series of quakes in Situbondo (East Java) as well as in Jambi, Padang, and West Sumatra province. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked Jambi, Padang, and West Sumatra Wednesday evening, killing at least nine people and damaging hundreds of buildings in West Sumatra alone. Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activities.
