A series of powerful earthquakes rocked Manokwari , the capital of West Papua , on Sunday , killing four people , injuring dozens and destroying hundreds of buildings .
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series powerful earthquake rock manokwari capital west papua sunday kill people injure dozen destroy hundred building
A series of powerful earthquakes <m> rocked </m> Manokwari , the capital of West Papua , on Sunday , killing four people , injuring dozens and destroying hundreds of buildings .
A series of powerful earthquakes <m> rocked </m> Manokwari , the capital of West Papua , on Sunday , killing four people , injuring dozens and destroying hundreds of buildings .
One 7.3-magnitude tremor was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan 's southeastern coast , the Associated Press reported .
The first quake , magnitude 7.6 , struck at 4:43 a.m. local time about 135 kilometers from Manokwari at a depth of 35 kilometers , the U.S. Geological Survey said .
Dozens of aftershocks followed .
At least four people died in Papua , where the runway of the airport nearest the epicenter was split by the force , President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters .
`` I 've instructed emergency steps be taken to help our brothers and to restore power and other vital utilities , '' Yudhoyono said .
Among the dead was a 10-year-old girl , identified as Yolanda Mandofi , whose head was crushed , said local hospital director Hengky Tewu .
`` Our ambulances are picking up two more , '' he said .
Another 19 patients at the hospital were treated for broken bones , cuts , crush wounds and other injuries .
Papua police chief Maj. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto said he had received reports that a hotel and a rice warehouse had been `` destroyed '' , but he did not know if anyone had been killed in the incidences .
A search for victims was under way .
Several stories of the Mutiara Hotel in the main city Manokwari collapsed , said Ina , a nurse at a navy hospital , adding that she had already treated 20 quake victims .
The quakes also reportedly damaged the Kalidingin hotel .
Electricity was cut off to the coastal city of population 167,000 , where people fled their homes in the dark fearing a tsunami , said Hasim Rumatiga , a local health official .
The quakes forced thousands of people to take refuge , including in military fields in the city , said Manokwari Military Commander Col. Inf. Irham Waroiham .
About 1,000 residents had taken shelter in a military field , 500 in a navy field , 500 in the yard of the Manokwari regent office and 7,000 others in Masni district , which lies just outside of Manokwari city .
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency had issued a tsunami alert , but it was revoked within an hour after it was determined the epicenter of the main quake had been within the mainland .
Quakes centered well within the mainland do not pose the threat of a tsunami to Indonesia , but can still spread large waves to neighboring countries , such as Japan .
Japan 's Meteorological Agency said tsunamis 10 to 40 centimeters in height swept into towns along the coast .
The quakes were also felt in Sorong regency .
The regency police spokesman Snr. Comr. Agus Rianto told The Jakarta Post the quakes had damaged 18 houses , injuring 11 residents .
The latest quakes in Manokwari occurred on Oct. 10 , 2002 , the largest recorded at magnitude 7.6 , killing three people .
Another strong quake hit in 1996 , triggering enormous waves that hammered into the north coastal area of Papua , as well as Sorong , Biak and Manokwari .