Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Powerful 6.8 quake hits waters off East Timor
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 30, 1:29 AM
DILI, East Timor — A powerful earthquake hit waters off East Timor
on Tuesday, but officials said it was too deep to trigger a
tsunami. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.8-magnitude quake struck 171
miles (276 kilometers) from the capital, Dili, and was centered
300 miles (465 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea.
That was too deep to generate destructive waves, the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center said in an e-mailed statement.
Most residents living in Dili said they didn’t feel the quake.
“We weren’t even aware,” said Santina Araujo, a mother of two who
attending a church gathering with other housewives. “Everything is
normal here, no panic or anything.”
East Timor 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.