7.0-magnitude earthquake shakes eastern Indonesia

An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit eastern Indonesia's Maluku islands on January 18, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS gave a tsunami warning, but then recalled it.

The epicentre of the tremor was located 150 kilometres northwest of the eastern Indonesian island of Halmahera, at a depth of 48 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre earlier reported that hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre.

The quake occurred around 13:06 (Vietnam time). The quake was revised down from an initial magnitude of 7.2 reported by the USGS.

 Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warned of possible aftershocks. However, AP reported that the agency did not issue any tsunami alert.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

On November 21,2022, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit West Java province on Indonesia's main island of Java, killing 602 people. Most of the victims were killed when buildings collapsed or in landslides triggered by the quake.

On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude set off an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand./.

VNA