Quake in Papua claims at least 17 lives, thousands homeless

Disaster officials in Indonesia say 17 people are now known to have died and more than 4-thousand have been made homeless by last week’s earthquake in West Papua province.

Authorities in Indonesia transport relief supplies to victims of West Papua quake

(Papua Story) The authorities in Indonesia are transporting tents, food and medical supplies by helicopter to the remote island in West Papua where more than 4,000 people were made homeless by an earthquake last week.

Troops boost relief effort in Indonesian quake zone

(Papua Story) MANOKWARI, Indonesia — Indonesian troops delivered aid Thursday to thousands of villagers left homeless by a powerful earthquake which killed two people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Quake of Papua coast kills 2

JAKARTA, June 16 (UPI) — A 7-magnitude earthquake rumbled near the coast of Indonesia’s West Papua province Wednesday, killing two people and injuring five, officials said.

The quake was about 125 miles north of Enarotali at depth of 18 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Police in the neighboring city of Serui said the quake damaged 20 houses and caused several fires, Kyodo News reported.

Two smaller quakes with magnitudes of 6 and 6.2 hit the same area within 40 minutes of the initial earthquake, USGS said.

Officials issued a tsunami warning but later lifted it after a tsunami did not occur, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

US Promises Normalisation of Military Cooperation

Jakarta (Papua Story) – The US government promises to shortly normalize military cooperation, notably with the Indonesian army special troops.

This was stated by the commander of the US special troops in the Pacific, Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus, when he paid a visit to TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) Commander-in-Chief General Djoko Santoso, as quoted by the chief of the TNI Information Center, Maj-Gen. Aslizar Tanjung, in a written statement received here Tuesday (18/5).