Jakarta: A powerful 7.4-magnitude offshore earthquake struck eastern Indonesia early Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, prompting a warning from a US monitoring agency about the possibility of “hazardous tsunami waves” within a 1,000-kilometre radius of the epicentre.
According to the USGS, the earthquake’s epicentre was located at 1.20 degrees north latitude and 126.35 degrees east longitude.
The quake occurred at a depth of around 30 kilometres, as reported by the China Earthquake Networks Center.
The tremor, which was initially recorded at a magnitude of 7.8, struck at approximately 6:48 a.m. local time in the Molucca Sea, the USGS added.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert stating that hazardous tsunami waves were possible “within 1,000 km of the epicentre,” particularly along coastal areas of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
The USGS also reiterated its warning regarding the potential for “hazardous tsunami waves” in regions situated within the same distance from the epicentre.
Indonesia remains one of the most seismically active regions in the world, as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire — a vast 40,000-kilometre arc of volcanoes and fault lines formed by the interaction of tectonic plates.
This horseshoe-shaped belt surrounding the Pacific Ocean accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes and is known for its frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Just last month, on March 3, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, according to the USGS, shaking residents but not causing significant damage.
That quake originated offshore near Sumatra’s northeastern tip, leading many residents to rush outdoors in panic in a region accustomed to frequent tremors.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, known as Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, had recorded the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.4 and stated that it occurred at a depth of 13 kilometres.
(IANS)
