Magnitude 7.3 earthquake sparks panic in Indonesia

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An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, causing panic but no deaths or serious damage were reported.

The epicenter was in the Flores Sea, north of East Nusa Tenggara province, where the quake raised terror after it struck early in the morning (3:20 am GMT).

“I was in the field. People ran in panic. I’m still… scared,” said Noraini, a resident of Adunara Island in East Flores province.

No major damage or deaths were immediately reported, but Indonesian authorities urged caution as more than a dozen smaller aftershocks were discovered.

A spokesman for the National Disaster Agency Abdul Mahari said in a statement that one person was injured in Mangrai, East Nusa Tenggara, and a school building was damaged in Slayar Island.

He added that the impact of the earthquake is still being evaluated.

The intensity of the tremor sparked panic in many areas, as videos from some towns and villages circulated on social media showing people running outside, some of them carrying young children.

Pictures showed streets bustling with traffic as vehicles tried to leave to safe locations.

The US Geological Survey placed the epicenter at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11 miles), about 100 kilometers north of Maumere on Flores Island, home to more than 80,000 people, where the quake disrupted coronavirus vaccination operations.

“People were getting their vaccinations when the earthquake hit. They ran in a panic,” said Julius Tara, a resident of Momiri.

There were more than 200 people… and it (the vaccination) stopped because of the earthquake. “

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake no longer posed a tsunami threat after an earlier warning that such waves were possible within a radius of 1,000 km from the epicenter.

The Indonesian authorities also raised their tsunami warning.

“I was checking my phone when the earthquake hit. I felt it for 30 seconds. It was strong,” said Alwan, a resident of Buton in southeast Sulawesi, one of the areas where the tsunami warning was issued.

‘ring of fire’

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin collide.

Among the deadliest earthquakes in Indonesia’s history was the devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake in 2004, which struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia. .

The Boxing Day tragedy was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

In 2018, a strong earthquake rocked the island of Lombok and several more tremors followed over the next two weeks, killing more than 550 people on the holiday island of nearby Sumbawa.

Later that year, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Palu on the island of Sulawesi killed or missing more than 4,300 people.

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