Powerful earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia
September 30th, 2010 - 3:06 am ICT by BNO NewsJAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) – A powerful earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on early Thursday morning, seismologists said, triggering a brief tsunami warning but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake at 02.11 a.m. local time (1711 GMT) was centered approximately 105 kilometers (65 miles) north-northwest of Dobo, a town on the Indonesian island of Kepulauan Aru. It struck about 25 kilometers (15 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the country’s seismological agency.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that there were two earthquakes separated only seconds apart, one measured 7.2 on the Richter scale while the second recorded a slightly weaker magnitude of 6.2. Indonesia’s seismological agency did not report a second earthquake.
The USGS estimated that approximately 4,000 people likely perceived strong shaking as a result of the earthquake, while 321,000 others may have observed moderate shaking. “There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage,” the USGS said.
The earthquake provoked a brief tsunami warning as earth movements of this magnitude sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive within a few hundred kilometers. However the warning - which was issued for Indonesia alone - was later lifted about 90 minutes later, without any tsunami activity.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the earthquake.
On late Sunday evening, a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north-northwest of Dobo. It struck about 59 kilometers (36 miles) deep, without causing any damage or casualties.
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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Tags: bno, dobo, earth movements, eastern indonesia, fault lines, indonesian island, jakarta indonesia, magnitude earthquake, north northwest, pacific basin, pacific ring of fire, powerful earthquakes, richter scale, ring of fire, seismologists, shallow earthquake, tsunami activity, tsunami warning, united states geological, united states geological survey