AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Sun Jul 2, 12:49 AM ET
Quake jolts eastern Indonesian islands
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake shook islands in Indonesia's eastern Maluku province
Sunday but there were no reports of damage or casualties, the meteorology office
said.
The undersea tremor hit at 8:15 am (2315 GMT) and was centered at a depth of 50
kilometers (31 miles) under the sea, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the
Maluku capital Ambon, a spokesman said.
The quake was felt moderately in Ternate, North Maluku, he said, but there were no
immediate report of damages or casualties.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates
causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Yogyakarta and its surrounds on the
Indonesian island of Java on May 27, killing some 5,800 people.
NOTE: The reading is based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now
used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the
total energy released.
A measurement of five indicates a moderate earthquake, six or higher a strong quake,
seven a major quake and eight a great quake.
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