7.3-magnitude quake kills one, damages houses in Indonesia

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia’s eastern region on July 14 has left one woman in South Halmahera dead, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said on Twitter without giving further details.

The damaged office of West Gane police precinct in Saketa, in Indonesia's North Maluku province, after an earthquake struck the area on July 14, 2019

The earthquake also damaged a police station and several civilian houses, said Iksan Subur, an official of the agency based in the regency of South Halmahera, near the earthquake’s epicentre.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km at an area 168 km south-southeast of Ternate in North Maluku province. It was followed by at least seven aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 5.8, but caused no tsunami warning.

The Indonesia's meteorology agency BMKG said the main quake was felt in other parts of Indonesia, including cities on Sulawesi island and in Sorong on Papua island.

Last week, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s eastern North Maluku province, but caused no major damage.

Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

Last September, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island killed more than 2,200 with a thousand more declared missing.

In 2004, a big earthquake off the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, killing 220,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 168,000 in Indonesia.

VNA