About 7,000 people in eastern Indonesia are living in tents after a series of powerful earthquakes destroyed hundreds of houses and stoked fears of a tsunami in an area still traumatized by 2004's deadly waves, an official said Tuesday, according to AP. The earthquakes Sunday _ the strongest of which registered magnitudes of 7.6 and 7.3 _ were centered about 85 miles (135 kilometers) outside the capital of West Papua province, Manokwari. The temblors wounded more than 260 people and killed a 10-year-old girl, according to George Auparay, a local government spokesman. About 1,250 buildings, including homes, schools, churches and businesses, were damaged. Tent camps housing about 7,000 people have been set up in downtown Manokwari, Auparay said. Utilities, flights and telecommunications had been restored to the area by Tuesday, but many residents remained too scared to go home, fearing aftershocks could trigger a tsunami or topple their homes. A massive quake off Indonesia's west coast spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 230,000 people, more than half of them Indonesians. Sunday's quakes didn't trigger a tsunami in Indonesia, but were felt as far away as northern Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan's southeastern coast. No damage was reported in those countries. Papua is located about 1,830 miles (2,955 kilometers) east of Jakarta and is among the nation's least developed areas.
