6.6-magnitude quake hits eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert: USGS

The quake struck off Halmahera island in North Maluku province at a depth of about 35 kilometres, the USGS said.

April 09, 2024 03:58 pm | Updated 04:21 pm IST - Jakarta

Photo: www.usgs.gov

Photo: www.usgs.gov

A magnitude-6.6 earthquake hit Indonesia’s eastern region on April 9, the United States Geological Survey said, with no tsunami warning issued.

The quake struck off Halmahera island in North Maluku province at 0948 GMT at a depth of about 35 kilometres (22 miles), the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after the earthquake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was “no tsunami threat” from the quake in the Molucca Sea.

But Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BMKG) advised residents in nearby areas of possible aftershocks.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. 

A magnitude-6.2 quake that shook Sulawesi island in January 2021 killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless.

In 2018, a magnitude-7.5 quake and subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi killed more than 2,200 people.

And in 2004, a magnitude-9.1 quake struck Aceh province, causing a tsunami and killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.