SORONG An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter Scale shook the town of Sorong in western Papua earlier today. According to information from the Meteorology and Geophysics Office the earthquake that took place at 12:12 local time (GMT+9), was located at 78 kilometers southeast of the town of Sorong.

The earthquake was also felt by numerous people in the town of Manokwari. From information from people there, it caused fire to some houses. Residents also panicked. As was reported by a reporter from Metro TV, the fires started after the earthquake in houses where people were just using their fireplaces.

Houses of residents that caught fire were located in the area of Pantai Borobudur. According to statistics, some 22 houses caught fire. This causes some 53 families to be forced to look for another place to stay. Most houses in this area belong to fishermen and are only made from plywood.