An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Bengkulu province on Monday but there was no immediate report of casualties or material damage, ANTARA reported. The epicenter of the quake which struck at 06.10 a.m. was in the sea, 73 km southwest of Bintuhan, Bengkulu, at a depth of 57 km, spokesman for the Bengkulu meteorology, climatology and geophysics office Dadang Pramana said. But the quake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, he said. The quake was strongly felt by people living as far away as Pagaralam, South Sumatra, where many panic-stricken residents and hotel guests rushed outdoors. The temblor caused cracks on the walls of office buildings. But there was no immediate report of casualties or material damage. Dadang said the tremblor also prompted residents of Bengkulu city and environs to rush outdoors as many of them were still traumatized by a powerful quake that ever rocked the area. Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", an area of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
