Major Quake Hits Northeastern Indonesia
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jan 21, 7:18 AM EST
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Major Quake Hits Northeastern Indonesia*
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday
about 30 miles under the Molucca Sea in northeastern Indonesia, the U.S.
Geological Survey said.
The epicenter of the major quake was about 80 miles from the city of
Ternate, in north eastern Indonesia, it said. It had a depth of more
than six miles below the ocean floor.
No tsunami warning was issued.
An official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii told The
Associated Press that a basin-wide tsunami - one that travels a great
distance or across an ocean - isn't expected, though a tsunami near the
earthquake's site is "always possible."
"Given the size of the earthquake, we think a basin-wide tsunami isn't
likely, though a local tsunami could be possible," said Brian Shiro, a
geophysicist at the tsunami center.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval
due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of
volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra
island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 lives -
131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.