Earthquake shakes eastern Indonesia, kills at least 20

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong earthquake Thursday killed at least 20 people and damaged a bridge, a hospital and other buildings on one of Indonesia’s less populated islands.

Parts of a building at an Islamic university collapsed in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province.

Local disaster official Albert Simaela said a teacher was killed there when parts of the building fell on her.

Simaela said a main hospital in Ambon was damaged and patients were evacuated to tents in the hospital’s yard.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said at least 19 others were killed and more than 2,000 people took refuge in various shelters.

The magnitude 6.5 quake was centred 33 kilometres northeast of Ambon at a depth of 18 kilometres, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Rahmat Triyono, head of Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami center, said the inland earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, but witnesses told television stations that people along coastal areas ran to higher ground in fear one might occur.

Simaela said many people drove to higher ground by motorbike and car, causing traffic congestion in Ambon.

“The temblor was so strong, causing us to pour into the streets,” said Musa, an Ambon resident who uses a single name.

He said there were no injuries or damage in his neighbourhood, but that people on social media reported damage elsewhere in the city.

The national disaster mitigation agency said the quake caused cracks in a main bridge in Ambon, and pictures released by the agency showed minor damage at Pattimura University in the city.

Several houses, universities and local government offices were also damaged.

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