Earthquakes strike Indonesian islands
Two strong earthquakes shook several islands in northeastern Indonesia but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said today.
The quakes struck toward the opposite end of the vast Indonesian archipelago from where the massive 9.0-magnitude quake struck on December 26, spawning a tsunami that killed more than 100,000 people in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
There was no threat of a tsunami from the latest quakes.
A magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 2.42pm Irish Time yesterday, jolting parts of the Talaud Islands in North Sulawesi province, said an official in the provincial capital, Manado.
The quake was centred beneath the Maluku Sea, about 210 miles northeast of Manado.
“It jolted Talaud and was even felt in Manado,” said the official. “We have not received reports of damage or casualties, and hopefully there was no impact.”
The Hong Kong Observatory registered the quake at 6.4. The 5.0-magnitude aftershock came at 02.57am Irish Time today, and also was centred beneath the Maluku Sea, about 124 miles northeast of Manado.
The world’s largest archipelago nation, Indonesia is prone to seismic activity due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.
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