Strong quake strikes off Indonesia’s Talaud islands

However, 6.4-magnitude temblor holds no threat of tsunami.

January 12, 2016 11:57 am | Updated September 23, 2016 12:00 am IST - JAKARTA:

A strong earthquake struck off North Sulawesi province in central Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.4 quake hit 233 kilometres (145 miles) southeast of Sarangani in the Philippines, at a depth of 12.9 kilometres (8 miles).

No tsunami danger

The Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said on Tuesday that the quake, which struck just 22 minutes before midnight (1638 GMT) on Monday, was centred about 58 kilometres (36 miles) southeast of the Talaud Islands in North Sulawesi province and had no potential to trigger a tsunami.

It was strongly felt in Melonguane, a town of Talaud, but there were no reports of its impact, the agency said.

Quake-prone

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 2,30,000 people in a dozen countries.

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