A Powerful Earthquake in the eastern Indonesia

Eastern Indonesia faced a powerful undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.3 with no huge damage or casualties. Hundreds of people fled into the streets in cities across eastern Indonesia. Indonesian authorities estimated that the quack struck its region of East Nusa Tenggara in the Flores Sea. The chief of Flores Timur district, Anton Hayon, said no damage was reported due to the quack and asked people in the coastal areas to get away from the beach lines, especially on the northern side. The quake struck around 100 km north of the town of Maumere at a depth of 18.5 km in the Flores Sea.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the country’s meteorological department issued a tsunami warning. The USGS highlighted that “recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides that might have contributed to losses”. Indonesia experiences frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also issued a possible tsunami warning.

The US-based Pacific Tsunami warning centre also said that “hazardous” tsunami waves are possible for coasts within 1,000km of the epicentre of the earthquake in Indonesia.