An earthquake of 5.4 magnitude hit Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, killing at least 46 people and injuring close to 300 others, a local official said.
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centered in the Cianjur region in West Java province, a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Local officials in Cianjur district said dozens of buildings, including houses, were damaged.
Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for them to be felt in Jakarta. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
