Powerful earthquake rocks E Indonesia

JAKARTA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 jolted Sulawesi Tenggara in eastern part of Indonesia on Friday, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The quake was felt up to East Java and Bali island, an official of the agency Beny Henrawanto told Xinhua.

The quake struck at 08:51 a.m. Jakarta time (0151 GMT) with epicenter at 234 km southeast of Baubau and 670 km under sea bed, the official said.

The intensity of the quake was felt at 3 MMI (Modified MercalliIntensity) at Kupang and its surrounding area, he said.,

The archipelago country with over 230 million population is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone, the so called "Pacific Ring of Fire", where two continental plates, stretching from Western hemisphere to Japan, meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic movements.