AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Tue Sep 6, 7:11 AM ET
Quake jolts Indonesia's restive Ambon
An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale shook Indonesia's restive Ambon
island but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The offshore quake, centered in the Banda Sea some 171 kilometers (106 miles)
southwest of Ambon, struck at 4:34 pm (0734 GMT), said Rachmat of the National
Meteorology and Geophysics office.
The epicentre was 29 kilometers under the sea, a depth considered shallow for a
tectonic earthquake, he said Tuesday.
"There is no report of damage. Earthquakes of such magnitude usually only cause
panic," he said.
Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental
plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
A 9.3-magnitude quake off Sumatra island triggered the December 26 tsunami
disaster that left at least 217,000 people dead around the Indian Ocean.
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