REUTERS, Tuesday February 20, 5:08 PM
Tsunami warning after Indonesia hit by strong quake
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia issued a tsunami warning on Tuesday after a strong
earthquake struck off the Moluccas islands in the country's east, but there were no
immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The magnitude 6.6 quake occurred at 3.04 pm (0804 GMT) with an epicenter 45 km
(28 miles) southwest of Labuha in North Maluku province, the Indonesian Meteorology
and Geophysics Agency said in a telephone text message. It had the potential to
cause a tsunami, it added. The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the earthquake
strength at 6.9 magnitude, but then revised that to 6.5. It put the depth at 31 km in a
bulletin on its Web site. "We are trying to get information from the region. If after one
hour there's no tsunami, we can say it's safe. So far there's no report of damage from
Labuha," Fauzi, an official at the meteorology agency's earthquake center, told
Reuters. The center's chief, Suharjono, also said no damage or casualties had been
reported immediately after the quake, although it had been felt by people in the area.
Indonesia sits atop the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" where the collision of
continental plates brings frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
A quake in the Indian Ocean in December 2004 and the tsunami it caused left some
170,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia's Aceh province.
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