According to the United States Geological Survey, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 magnitude struck the Banda Sea in Indonesia on Wednesday. No immediate reports of damage or casualties have been made.
The USGS stated that no tsunami warning was issued for the earthquake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.9. It occurred at 11:53 a.m. local time (0453 GMT).
The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency reported that the tremor was moderately felt in the town of Saumlaki in the Tanimbar Islands of the archipelago.
A Saumlaki resident named Lambert Tatang told AFP, “The earthquake was quite intense. But the people here were not panicking. We are used to having earthquakes. Especially after we learned that there was no tsunami threat, so life is just normal now.”
Indonesia is known for its frequent earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that extends through Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Pacific basin.
In November 2022, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the densely populated West Java province of Indonesia’s main island, Java, resulting in the death of 602 people.
In 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that claimed the lives of 220,000 people in the region, including approximately 170,000 in Indonesia.
AFP
