Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes off Indonesian
island
By BNO News
KUPANG, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck the
Savu Sea off the Indonesian island of Flores on early Saturday
morning, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports
of damage or casualties. No tsunami warnings were issued.
The 6.3-magnitude earthquake at 4.32 a.m. local time (2032 GMT
Friday) was centered in the Savu Sea about 5 kilometers (3.1
miles) southwest of Rinja Island, which is part of West Manggarai
Regency in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. It struck about 124
kilometers (77 miles) deep, making it an earthquake of
intermediate depth, according to Indonesia's seismological agency
(BMKG).
Rinja Island, located close to the larger island of Flores, has no
permanent residents. But the United States Geological Survey
(USGS), which measured the earthquake at 5.5 on the moment
magnitude scale, estimated that some 924,000 people in the wider
region may have felt light shaking.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the
region, and BMKG said there was no threat of a tsunami due to the
earthquake's depth and because earthquakes below magnitude 7 do
usually not generate tsunamis.
Earlier this month, on January 11, a powerful 7.1-magnitude
earthquake struck about 423 kilometers (262 miles) southwest of
Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on the northern tip of
Sumatra. A tsunami warning was briefly issued, but there were no
reports of damage or casualties.
On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever
recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The
9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking
scores of countries in the region. In all, at least 227,898 people
were killed.
Most recently, on October 25, 2010, a powerful 7.7-magnitude
earthquake struck just off the Mentawai Islands off the western
coast of Sumatra. As a result, a wall of water killed at least 435
people on the islands and impacted more than 20 villages.