Some injuries after quake near Indonesia's Bali
Just got back from Bali Wed 16Sep09.
Only dive for a day (3 dives) for Mola Hunting but no luck. Current was strong and didn't get to go Crystal Bay or Manta Point as originally planned by the dive centre due to the sea conditions.
Question : Is it safe to dive after an earthquake? Would the sea conditions be favorable or would it be better to stay off the waters (for how long?) before resuming dives?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat Sep 19, 2009 9:47am IST
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An earthquake struck offshore from Indonesia's island of Bali on Saturday, causing some injuries, the meteorology agency and the health ministry said.
Officials said no tsunami warning had been issued, but the quake at around dawn was felt strongly on the resort island.
At least seven people were injured, some hit by falling debris from buildings and others after jumping from high floors, said Rustam Pakaya, an official at Indonesia's health ministry.
The roof of a shopping mall in the island's capital of Denpasar also collapsed, the official said.
"When the quake happened I was in a market and some people started shouting and running out of the market building, leaving their belongings behind," said Putu Suartana, a resident in Singaraja in Bali.
He said lamps swayed violently after the quake.
The quake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was 101 km (62.76 miles) southeast of Nusadua in Bali at a depth of 36 km, the meteorology agency said.
Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes lying in an area of intense seismic activity where several tectonic plates meet. A quake killed at least 57 and destroyed thousands of homes in the hills of West Java on Sept 2, also causing panic and some damage in the capital Jakarta.
(Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Writing by Ed Davies, editing by Ron Popeski)
