5.3 magnitude earthquake sets off in Indonesia's eastern Maluku province, no damage reported

United News of India

3 days ago

Jakarta, June 4 (UNI) An earthquake measured at over 5.3 on the Richter scale set off in Indonesia's eastern Maluku province on Wednesday, as per the country's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.
The quake had a very shallow depth of 20 km (12 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so), according to Volcano Discovery.
The tremors occurred at 10:43 a.m. Jakarta time (0343 GMT) with the quake's epicenter located 66 km southeast of Seram Bagian Timur Regency at a depth of 20 km beneath the seabed.
The strength of the tremors was measured at III to IV MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in the district.
Despite the intensity of the earthquake, no tsunami alert was issued by the agency as the tremors would not trigger large waves, reports Xinhua.
Daryono, head of the agency's quake and tsunami mitigation division, said that no preliminary reports about damages or casualties were reported from the tremors.
Additionally, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck near the country's Fakfak region. The quake was reported to have occurred at a depth of 58 km, happened around noon today, local time.
While initial reports suggest the quake likely caused no significant damage, residents near the epicenter might have felt light shaking. Different agencies are still refining their data, with magnitudes ranging from 5.1 to 5.7.
An archipelago, Indonesia is prone to frequent seismic and volcanic activities due to its location within the notorious "Pacific Ring of Fire."
The location is known to be volatile boundary where several colossal tectonic plates occur on a regular basis, resulting in strong earthquakes.
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