Indonesia: Everything is clear after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake and tsunami warning | news | DW

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of “dangerous waves” after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Indonesian town of Maumere in the Flores Sea. The warning was later lifted.

Based on all available data […] The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said later on Tuesday that the tsunami threat from this earthquake is now over.

The center added: “Slight fluctuations in sea level may occur in some coastal areas.”

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the strong earthquake was recorded at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11 miles) in the Flores Sea at 12:20 pm local time.

The US Geological Survey said there was little chance of casualties from the quake.

But, she added, “recent earthquakes in this region have caused secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides, which may have contributed to the losses.”

What happened in the neighboring towns?

“Everyone ran into the street,” Augustinus Florianos, a resident of the town of Momiri on the island of Flores, told Reuters news agency.

Several aftershocks that flipped the scales above 5 degrees followed in the subsequent hours.

“We have checked and there have been no reports of damage,” East Flores regional president Anton Hayon told Kompas TV.

Television channels showed residents fleeing the coast on motorbikes and on foot in fear of the tsunami.

Tsunami warnings were recorded for the areas of Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Southeast and South Sulawesi.

An official with the Indonesian Meteorological Agency, Muhammad sadly, warned people to stay away from the beaches for at least two hours, after which the tsunami warning would be lifted.

“I was in the field. People ran in panic. I’m still… scared,” said Noraini, who lives on Adunara Island in the East Flores Regency.

Indonesians have struggled a lot living on the Ring of Fire, as the 2004 tsunami of a magnitude 9.1 earthquake killed 220,000 people in the region, and 170,000 in the archipelago.

jc, ar/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters, AFP)

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