An earthquake measuring 5,5 on the Richter scale hits Melonguane sea, North Sulawesi, on Thursday at 8.31 a.m. local time, ANTARA quoted the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) as saying. The temblor had its epicenter 4.11 degrees northern longitude and 127.35 degrees eastern latitude, 76 kilometers northeast of Melonguane sea, North Sulawesi, at a depth of 20 kilometers. On Wednesday (September 30), an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted the province and its vicinity at 8:39 local time. Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the epicenter of the earthquake was located at 4.78 degrees northern latitude and 126.74 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of ten kilometers under the sea level, or about 87 kilometers northeast of Melonguana in North Sulawesi. In the same day, an earthquake also rocked other part of Sulawesi island, Southeast Sulawesi province, at 6:38 a.m. local time. The temblor's epicenter was located at 6.98 degrees southern latitude, 125.66 degrees eastern longitude, around 176 km north of Dili (Timor Leste), 379 km southeast of Bau-bau at a depth of 533 km below sea level. It was also located 423 km northeast of Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara Province), 478 km southeast of Kendari (Southeast Sulawesi), and 464 km southwest of Ambon (Maluku Province). However, very strong earthquake on Wednesday was the one happened in West Sumatra measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale. The earthquake rocked the province on Wednesday (Sept.30) at 5.16 pm Western Indonesian Standard Time. Its epicenter was located at 0.84 degrees southern latitude and 99.65 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 71 kilometers in the seabed, 57 kilometers southwest of Pariaman district or 78 kilometers northwest of West Sumatra's capital city, Padang. According to latest data, 75 people died and hundreds of local residents trapped under rubble. Electricity in West Sumatra is almost paralyzed after the strong quake struck the province on Wednesday afternoon. The devastating quake caused the supporting infrastructure such as the main powerhouse, electric poles and the office buildings of the state-run power company PT PLN badly damaged, PLN's technical manager overseeing Riau Islands M Shodiq told ANTARA at an emergency command post on Wednesday night.
