A shallow earthquake shook IndonesiaB次元官网网址檚 easternmost province of Papua on Thursday, killing four people who were unable to escape when a floating restaurant collapsed into the sea.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit residential areas in Jayapura, near PapuaB次元官网网址檚 northern coast and was centered at a depth of 22 kilometers (13 miles). Shallow quakes often cause more damage on the EarthB次元官网网址檚 surface.
B次元官网网址淭he residents were really panicked. I was in a car, and I felt like the carB次元官网网址檚 wheels were lifted up,B次元官网网址� said Tri Asih, a resident of Jayapura, PapuaB次元官网网址檚 capital.
Officials said four people who were inside a floating restaurant died when the quake caused it to collapse into the sea.
B次元官网网址淭he bodies of the four victims have been recovered,B次元官网网址� National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said at a news conference. B次元官网网址淭he victims were trapped under the rubble of the cafe and covered by the roof.B次元官网网址�
Rescue divers were searching the area around the cafeteria for possible survivors.
Muhari said houses, buildings and medical facilities also were damaged. Some patients at the cityB次元官网网址檚 hospital were evacuated to its yard.
A series of strong earthquakes has shaken Papua since January. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it has recorded 1,079 earthquakes in Jayapura city and nearby areas since Jan. 2, with 132 of them strong enough to be felt by residents.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago and a home to more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the B次元官网网址淩ing of Fire,B次元官网网址� an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Basin.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Nov. 21 killed at least 331 people in West Java. It was the deadliest in Indonesia since a 2018 quake and tsunami in Sulawesi killed about 4,340 people.
In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in IndonesiaB次元官网网址檚 Aceh province.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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