Strong earthquake shakes buildings in Indonesia

A STRONG earthquake shook buildings in an Indonesian provincial capital yesterday, sending residents fleeing from their homes, witnesses said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the magnitude 7.3 quake, but local television said some buildings were cracked in Manado, a city of 400,000 people in northern Sulawesi island, 2,200km (1,365 miles) northeast of Jakarta.

“People panicked and ran out of their homes. They are still outside their homes,” a Reuters witness said 30 minutes after the quake struck in the Molucca Sea, 165km east of Manado near the northern tip of Sulawesi.