Indonesia raises tsunami alert after strong undersea earthquake

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JAKARTA – Indonesia raised a tsunami alert on Tuesday after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the island of Flores, causing panic in an area prone to deadly quakes but apparently causing no major damage or casualties.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) below sea level and was located 112 kilometers (74 miles) north of Momiri, the second largest earthquake on East Noosa Island. Tenggara District has a population of 85,000 people.

After the initial tsunami warning, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and later the Indonesian Meteorological Agency raised the warning hours after the quake.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul-Mahari said the quake was strongly felt by residents of the East Flores region. Video footage showed people fleeing buildings that were shaken by the collision.

One case was reported in East Nusa Tenggara province.

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The shocks were also felt by residents in Makassar City and the Slayar Islands region in South Sulawesi province across the Flores Sea. The Disaster Mitigation Agency reports that a school has been damaged in the Slyar Islands.

Based on sea level observations, Mahari said, minor tsunami waves of 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) were detected in the Marapokote and Rio regions.

Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said people along the coasts on the northern side of Flores should be aware of more earthquakes and possible tsunamis.

“The previous earthquake no longer has the possibility of a tsunami. It is very likely that there will be aftershocks, we hope they will not be stronger than before,” Karnawati said.

Flores Timor District President Anton Hayon said there were no reports of damage.

“We asked people in coastal areas to stay away from shore lines, especially on the north side…as there was a big tsunami there in 1972,” Hayon said.

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He added that the residents had joined the tsunami exercises before and they knew what to do.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines that arch the Pacific Ocean.

The last major earthquake was in January, with a magnitude of 6.2 and killing at least 105 people and injuring nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

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