6.2-magnitude quake strikes off central Indonesia, no casualties reported
Kathmandu : A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted central Indonesia early Thursday, but no damage or casualties were reported, and no tsunami warning was issued, officials said.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has earlier measured the quake at 6.4 magnitude but later revised it down, an official at the agency Aziz Widiarso said.
“We did not issue a warning for tsunami as the center of the quake was deep,” he told Xinhua by phone.
The tremors were felt in the provinces of Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and South Sulawesi, according to him.
The quake, which struck at 3:59 a.m. Jakarta time Thursday (2059 GMT Wednesday), was centered 71 km away from Bonebelango district, Gorontalo province, with the depth of 131 km, the official said.
The intensity of the quake was felt at II to III MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in Gorontalo city in Gorontalo province, Luwuk sub-district and Marowali district of Central Sulawesi province, Baroko sub-district of South Sulawesi province and Bolaang Mongondow district of North Sulawesi province, he noted.
“The jolts of the quake were felt very weak. So far, we did not get any information about the damage or those who are injured due to the quake,” Hendry Ticoalu, head of the Disaster Management Agency in Gorontalo, told Xinhua.
Indonesia has been frequently hit by earthquakes as it lies on a quake-prone zone called the “Pacific Ring of Fire.”