Asia-Pacific

Quake off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami warning

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-08-15 13:44

JAKARTA - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia in the Banda sea area on Tuesday, an official at the national earthquake centre said, but there were no reports of damage or a tsunami.

"There was a quake in Banda sea at 10:05 a.m. Jakarta time (0305 GMT)", said Fauzi at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (MGA). "There is no potential tsunami and also no damage."

The U.S. Geological Survey put the earthquake's magnitude at a strong 6.1 and at a depth of 39 km (24 miles)

It said the quake struck 188 km southwest of Ambon in Indonesia's Moluccas. The MGA official said the quake could be felt in Ambon.

There was no immediate tsunami warning posted on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's Web site (www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc)

Earthquakes occur frequently near Indonesia, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

In May this year, a strong earthquake also hit the city of Yogyakarta in Java killing at least 5,000 and a tsunami after a quake on July 17 off the south coast of Java killed at least 600.

A 9.15 magnitude earthquake on December 26, 2004 in the sea off the Aceh province triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 220,000 people in the region.