Breaking News: Two quakes rock western Indonesia, scores injured, houses damaged

JAKARTA: Two earthquakes with magnitude of 5.8 and 4.9 jolted western part of Indonesia province on Tuesday (March 10), leaving scores of people wounded and several houses destroyed, officials said.

The latest quake struck at 9.06pm (1406 GMT) with the epicentre at 88km southeast of Enggano Island in Bengkulu province, and the depth at 48km under the seabed, said Prio Budi, an official at the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

The intensity of the quake was felt at IV MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) in Lampung province's village of Liwa, the official disclosed.

"With that strong intensity, there should be damages resulted by the jolts," he told Xinhua by phone.

Earlier, a 4.9-magnitude quake struck at 5.8pm (1018 GMT) with the epicentre at 13km northeast of Sukabumi district in West Java province and the shallow of 10km under the seabed, the official said, citing that the agency previously released a report on a 5.0-magnitude quake on the same day.

The intensity of the quake was felt at IV to V MMI in the province's areas of Ciambar, Cidahu, Kelapa Nunggal, and II to III MMI in Citeko, he said.

The jolts were also felt in nearby Banten province with the intensity of III MMI in Penggarangan and II to III MMI in Bayah, Budi said.

Both the quakes did not potentially trigger tsunami, he said.

The shallow quake has left at least three people wounded and thirteen houses damaged, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency Agus Wibowo told Xinhua in a text message.

Indonesia is frequently hit by quakes as it lies on a quake-prone zone in the Pacific Ring of Fire. - Xinhua/Asian News Network