Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale rocked Bengkulu province at 3:54 pm on Wednesday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

The epicenter of the quake was in the sea, 139 km southwest of Seluma area in Bengkulu at a depth of 10 km, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on its official website on Wednesday.

The tremor was not significant enough to cause a tsunami, it added.

"We did not feel the quake, though it was quite strong," Putut Hadiyanto, an employee of the Bengkulu Provincial Legislative Assembly (DPRD), said.

Wednesday`s quake was felt only by those staying in storied buildings, he noted.

Bengkulu is one of the areas in Indonesia prone to quakes. The province was hit by a powerful quake with a magnitude of 7.9 in 2007, leaving several dead and destroying thousands of houses with material losses estimated at hundreds of billions of rupiahs.

Earlier, a 7.3 magnitude quake also rattled the province in 2000 in which many people perished.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific `Ring of Fire` where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

(S012)

Editor: Ella Syafputri
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