7.3 Earthquake Hits Indonesia, Tsunami Warning Canceled
Diane Smith
Another tsunami warning was issued on Monday by Indonesia's meteorology agency as a powerful earthquake rocked the Bengkulu province in western Sumatra. The warning comes just a few days after another tsunami warning was issued following a tremor that struck the western province of Aceh.
Local authorities didn’t report any casualties or damages yet.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale, a depth of 35 km (21.75 miles) and was also felt in Singapore. The quake had a 10 km depth according to the measurements made by the Indonesian meteorology agency.
According to Indonesia’s geophysics agency, the tremor had a magnitude of 7.2 and was centered in the Indian Ocean around 96 miles from the town of Bengkulu.
"There are no reports of damages or casualties yet. When the quake happened, people stormed out of the police station. We still need to check with the police station on Muko-Muko (nearest to the epicenter) whether there has been any damage," Hassanudin, a police officer in Bengkulu town, told Reuters.
Bengkulu inhabitants as well as those in the nearby town of Mukomuko said they felt the quake, but apparently it didn’t cause any damage or casualties.
The tsunami warning issued by the Indonesia’s geophysics agency was canceled later after they found out no large waves were generated.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire a region very exposed to seismic activity.
On December 2004 the Aceh province, about 1,350 kilometers north-west of Jakarta, was hit by an earthquake of 9.0-magnitude. The powerful tremor triggered a giant tsunami in the Indian Ocean. More Than 230,000 people were killed in the region, 170,000 of them Indonesians.
Three months later another earthquake - 8.7-magnitude - hit on Simeulue and Nias, a neighboring island, killing 1,000 people.
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