One dead, several injured after powerful quake rocks Indonesia

At least one person died and several were injured after a powerful undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia's heavily populated Java island, triggering a brief tsunami warning, officials said Saturday.

Residents talk near a house damaged in Friday's earthquake. Source: AAP

 

The 6.9 magnitude quake on Friday 2 Aug evening sent residents fleeing to higher ground, while many in the capital Jakarta ran into the streets.

Thousands residents of Pasaran Island, Bandar Lampung fled to the Lampung Governor's office area, following the earthquake. AAP

Officials from Indonesia's national disaster agency warned the quake could generate a tsunami as high as three metres, but it was lifted several hours later.

On Saturday, authorities said a panicked 48-year-old woman had died of a heart attack as the strong quake rocked the region.

Four more people were injured and over 1,000 evacuated to temporary shelters, said officials, including residents of neighbouring Sumatra island.

The location of the earthquake, which struck at a depth of 42.8 km near Tugu Hilir, Indonesia.

USGS

More than 100 buildings were damaged, with some 34 houses destroyed, the agency added.

"There was thundering noise - it sounded like a plane overhead - and I was just so scared that I ran," said 69-year-old Isah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, at an evacuation shelter in Pandeglang at the southwest end of Java.

In December, the area was hit by a volcano-sparked tsunami that killed over 400 people.