Earthquake kills 13 in Indonesia
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-26 20:41

A strong earthquake rocked Indonesia's West Papua province Friday, killing at least 13 people and causing dozens of buildings and homes to collapse, officials said.

The magnitude-6.4 quake struck at 11:25 a.m. and was centered 20 miles from the Papuan town of Nabire, 2,000 miles northeast of the capital Jakarta, said seismologist Edison Gurning.

At least 13 people were killed and 65 injured, Nabire Deputy Police Chief Maj. Wempi Batlairi said.

The quake destroyed 170 homes and shops, three bridges, a church and a government telecommunications building, he said. Authorities closed the local airport after a crack was found in the runway.

Tents were being erected to house the homeless.

"People are still scared," Batlairi said. "We are still getting aftershocks from the quake. All of the townspeople are outside because they fear that more buildings will collapse."

Nabire was hit by a powerful earthquake in February that killed 28 people and left much of the city in ruins. Authorities said the city was still in the process of rebuilding from that quake.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation of 17,000 islands, is prone to frequent seismic upheaval because of its location on the margins of tectonic plates called the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

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