Asia-Pacific

Strong quake rocks eastern Indonesia, no casualties

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-05 20:38

JAKARTA - A shallow quake with magnitude of 6.3 struck eastern parts of Indonesia on Monday, but there was no report damage or casualties, the country's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency reported.

The quake jolted at 17:05 pm Jakarta time (1005 GMT) with epicenter at 191 km southwest Bitung of North Sulawesi province and with the depth at 10 km under sea bed, an official of the agency Arief Nurahim told Xinhua over phone.

The agency did not issue tsunami warning as the magnitude of the quake was below 7, he said.

The intensity of the quake was felt at 2 to 3 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) at Manado, the capital of the province, Bitung town, the nearest town to the epicenter, in the province, said Nurahim.

It was also felt at nearby province of North Maluku at the same intensity, the quake was felt at Labuha town and Ternate city of the province, he said.

In the nearest area to the epicenter, Bitung town, and other nearby areas, there was no building damaged or those injured after the quake, official of Disaster Management Agency Setiawan Cahya said.

Indonesia sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called the Pacific Ring of Fire.