Indonesia escapes 6.4 magnitude quake with few casualties

An official monitors the activities of an earthquake at an observation post mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on June 30, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

JAKARTA – A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Java on Friday evening, injuring at least 10 people, while one person died of suspected heart attack during the quake, the country's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said.

The tremor caused minor damage to hundreds of houses, some offices, health and education facilities scattered in the region of Yogyakarta and Central Java province, the agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari told Reuters Saturday.

Indonesia's geophysics agency (BMKG) said the quake, which hit at a depth of 25 km , was felt in several cities in the region of Yogyakarta as well as east and central Java, Indonesia's most populous island. No tsunami warning was issued.

READ MORE: Strong quake hits western Indonesia, no potential for tsunami

Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly active seismic zone where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and set off a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.