Strong quake hits Indonesia

JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.6-magnitude undersea earthquake has rocked Indonesia's northern Maluku province, prompting initial fears of a tsunami.

The meteorology agency urged residents on Bacan island to be alert for signs of rising sea levels after the quake struck 48 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the beachside town of Labuha at 5:04 pm (0804 GMT).

But the alert was cancelled an hour later as there were no signs of a tsunami developing, said Suharjono from the agency's headquarters.

"The tsunami warning has now been cancelled," Suharjono told AFP.

The warning was issued because the earthquake was strong and shallow, striking just 18 kilometres under the seabed.

Another agency official, Fauzi, said there were initial reports that the quake was strongly felt in Labuha but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

An aftershock measuring 5.1 struck 20 minutes later centered just 24 kilometres north-northwest of Labuha, Fauzi told AFP.

A stronger aftershock measuring 5.8 stuck the same area at 11:25 pm but there were no immediate reports of any damage, the meteorology office said.

A telecom operator in Labuha said the first quake was felt strongly in the town and caused light cracks in his office walls.

Atere, the operator, also said the local authorities had not issued an official tsunami warning.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.

Jakarta flood losses rise to nearly one billion dollars

JAKARTA (AFP) - Devastating floods in the Indonesian capital earlier this month have caused nearly one billion dollars worth of damage and losses.

National Development Planning Minister Paskah Suzetta said direct losses from infrastructure damage and state revenue were at least 5.2 trillion rupiah (572 million dollars), higher than his earlier estimate of 4.1 trillion rupiah.

Potential economic losses were estimated at another 3.6 trillion rupiah, newspapers quoted him as saying.

The floods which hit on February 2 covered much of the city and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Some 85 people were killed in the sprawling city and surrounding districts.

Businesses and private individuals bore the brunt of the flood damage, accounting for 4.5 trillion of the estimated 5.2 trillion rupiah, while the government and related institutions and enterprises suffered about 650 billion rupiah in losses and damage.

He said the figures did not yet include damage to social and public facilities such as schools, clinics and hospitals.

"The flood has the potential to lower Jakarta's GDP growth by 0.59 percent in the industry and trade sector" and also hit growth in surrounding towns, he said.

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar has blamed the floods on excessive construction on natural drainage areas, while city governor Sutiyoso has dismissed them as a "cyclical natural phenomenon."

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has told AFP that Sutiyoso and other officials should take responsibility for the devastation because of over-building which had not been accompanied by improved drainage.

"The richer people are, the more villas they build. So the mountains are full of villas. The green areas, including the rivers, are getting smaller and it is not balanced with a proper drainage system," he said.

Old Batavia, the former colonial port under Dutch rule from where Jakarta has expanded, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital are below sea level.