Earthquake in Bali.. Panic among residents and minor damage

An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale jolted the Indonesian island of Bali on Tuesday, causing minor damage but panic among people, given the black record of natural disasters in the Asian country.

The quake struck at 7:18 am (0018 GMT) in Bali and came at the height of the tourist season, with its epicenter 82.1 km southwest of Denpasar, the island's capital, according to the US Geophysics Center.

Hotels were evacuated, local media reported, but Ngura Rai International Airport said flights were not affected.

Preliminary reports indicate that the depth of the quake felt even to the neighboring population of Java was relatively 91 kilometers, did not trigger a tsunami warning nor resulted in casualties.

Residents of Bali described the panic they had experienced at the time of the quake. "I was carrying my child when I felt the quake, it was strong, I ran out immediately and saw a lot of people on the streets." Kumang Sudiani a resident of Denpasar, told AFP.

Images published by the disaster management agency showed some minor damage to shop windows and temples on this predominantly Hindu island.

"We have received information on damage such as falling tiles or broken glass panels in many homes and offices," said Rahmat Triano, the agency's director of seismic and tsunami management.

Some 20 houses, schools, temples and offices were slightly damaged, particularly in the Padung district, near the island's Kuta tourist area, local authorities said.

Indonesia, consisting of 17,000 islands and formed by the convergence of three large tectonic plates (Indian-Pacific, Australian and Eurasian), is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire region, a region of strong seismic activity.

On Sunday, the archipelago of kings in eastern Indonesia suffered a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake that killed three people and damaged more than 1,000 homes.

Last year, an earthquake measuring 7.5 degrees, followed by the tsunami in Palau on Sulawesi island, killed more than 2,200 people and left thousands dead.