A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hits eastern Indonesia, and there is no warning of a tsunami

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Jakarta, Indonesia (AFP) – A powerful earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, with no immediate damage reported and no tsunami warning issued.

Some residents tried to flee their homes after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

The USGS said it occurred 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) below sea level, and mid-150 kilometers (93.2 miles) northwest of Tupelo in North Maluku province.

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued no tsunami warning. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu briefly said there was a potential threat to nearby Indonesian coasts, but lifted the notice shortly thereafter.

Some people were fleeing their homes when the quake shook, said Tupelo resident Pius O’Huyoton.

“I felt a little swaying as the lamps said too. Some people tried to flee their homes,” Ohuiwuton said on Wednesday.

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake also rocked eastern Indonesia earlier Wednesday morning. There were no reports of damage.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago and home to more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Basin.

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake on November 21 killed at least 331 people in West Java. This is the deadliest in Indonesia since the 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, killing about 4,340 people.

In 2004, a very strong earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, mostly in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

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