Bandung, West Java (ANTARA News) - A magnitude-4.9 quake shook several regions in West Java on Monday causing panic among local residents.

Some residents in Pengalengan , South Bandung, ran out of their homes when the quake struck.

"They rushed out of their homes and some were shocked. They were still traumatized by the huge quake that hit the region in 2009," Ade Sukirman, a resident of Norogtog, Pengalengan, said.

They were afraid a big quake would happen again just after they had just finished rebuilding their homes with government aid after being hit by a magnitude 7.6 quake on September 9, 2009.

Sukirman said the tremor was felt for around 10 seconds. People remained outside of their homes for quite a long time after the quake on Monday for fear of aftershocks.

A staff member of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Bandung confirmed the quake saying that it was also felt by people in Tasikmalaya and Ciamis, West Java.

"The quake occurred at around 3.59pm measuring at 4.9 on the Richter Scale. The epicenter of the quake was 42 kilometers southwest in the Tasikmalaya waters at a depth of 10 kilometer," Arief, the agency`s quake observation staff, said.

Although the epicenter was in the sea the quake did not cause a tsunami. The tremor was felt in Pangandaran and Ciamis at 2 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity).
(Uu.H-YH/HAJM)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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