JAKARTA -- A powerful earthquake with magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter scale rocked Maluku province in eastern part of Indonesia on Thursday morning, potential for tsunami, meteorology agency said here.
The quake struck at 2:58 am Jakarta time (1958 GMT Wednesday) with epicenter at 275 kilometers southwest Saumlaki town of Maluku province and at 10 kilometers under sea bed, an official of the agency Yanuarsih Tunggal Putri said.
Although the intensity of the quake was weak, it was potential for triggering tsunami, she said. "Tsunami warning has been issued. As the center of the quake is at eastern sea, the eastern part of Maluku province is potential to be hit," Yanuarsih told Xinhua.
There was no report so far of the casualties or damages, she said.
Twenty-three people were killed and thousands of buildings were destructed in September 2007 after a 7.9 Richter scale quake, which was potential for tsunami, rocked Bengkulu province in Sumatra Island of western Indonesia.
In 2004, over 170,000 people died in Aceh province in northern tip of Sumatra Island after a tsunami triggered by a powerful quake devastated coastal areas of the province and others countries in southeast Asia.
Indonesia is located in a vulnerable zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire" where two continental plates, stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia, meet that cause frequent volcanic movements.
