Indonesia hit by two strong quakes
Pastor Dale Morgan
Indonesia hit by two strong quakes*
From correspondents in Jakarta
October 05, 2007 04:36am
Article from: Reuters
TWO undersea earthquakes over 2500km apart and measuring up to 6.3 on
the Richter scale struck Indonesia overnight, but no tsunami warnings
were triggered, seismologists said.
The first quake in northern Aceh province was rated by the national
meteorological agency at a magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale although
the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported it at 6.0.
There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties after the
quake, the epicentre of which lay at a depth of 10km around 367km
southwest of Sinabang.
Hours later, another earthquake measuring between 5.6 and 5.8 on the
Richter scale struck Indonesia's Lombok island, 190km east of Bali and
close to the eastern end of the sprawling archipelago.
The USGS said the epicentre was 152km northeast of Mataram and was very
shallow at 13.5km deep.
There were no reports of damage after the tremors, which were also felt
in Denpasar, the capital of Bali, a meteorological agency official said.
Indonesia is situated along a belt of intense seismic activity known as
the "Pacific Ring of Fire". Aceh was hit by a huge earthquake
registering at least 9.0 on the Richter scale in December 2004,
triggering a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more
than 230,000 people in the region, including 170,000 Indonesians.
Last month a strong earthquake jolted Sumatra in the north that was
followed by a series of aftershocks, killing 25 people and damaging some
80,000 buildings.
Since last month's earthquake, the Sumatra area has been hit by a series
of quakes and strong aftershocks, setting off tsunami warnings in
Indonesia and other countries in the region.