Strong earthquake hits eastern Indonesia, no damage expected

Strong earthquake hits eastern Indonesia, no damage expected

2010-10-12 18:00:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

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JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck south of West Papua province in eastern Indonesia on early Tuesday evening, seismologists said, but no damage was expected.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake at 7.21 p.m. local time (1021 GMT) struck about 105 kilometers (65 miles) from Dobo on the Aru Islands (also known as Kepulauan Aru). It struck about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the country's seismological agency.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the strength of the earthquake at 5.9 on the Richter scale, significantly lower than Indonesia's estimate. It estimated that approximately 4,000 people may have perceived moderate earthquake shaking, but said damage or casualties were not expected.

Indonesia is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking scores of countries. In all, at least 227,898 people were killed.

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