The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that a magnitude 7.3 earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, with monitors momentarily warning of the likelihood of dangerous tsunami waves before lowering the alarm.
The epicenter was located north of the island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara region, where the quake struck at approximately 03:20 GMT, causing widespread panic.
The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, or BMKG, had previously reported a magnitude 7.4 earthquake and warned of a “possible tsunami.”
According to a video received by Al Jazeera from Marius Jelamu, a spokesman for the governor’s office in East Nusa Tenggara, terrified people were seen screaming as they congregated on the street while the earth trembled.
There was also no significant damage or deaths reported in the areas where the quake was felt, despite authorities’ warnings.
The USGS said the risk of mortality was minimal, but “previous earthquakes in this area have created secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides that may have contributed to losses,” according to the agency.
After the earthquake struck 112 kilometers (69.59 miles) northwest of Larantuka, in the eastern section of Flores, at a depth of 12 kilometers, Tsunami warnings were issued for the affected areas (7.4 miles).
- Maluku.
- East Nusa Tenggar.
- West Nusa Tenggara.
- Southeast and South Sulawesi.
After the first quake, a magnitude 5.6 aftershock struck Larantuka, according to sources.
There were no initial reports of damage, according to Alfons Hada Betan, the chairman of the East Flores Disaster Mitigation Agency in Larantuka, and the tremor was felt for many minutes as people evacuated their homes.
Due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of severe seismic activity where tectonic plates meet that spans from Japan through Southeast Asia and throughout the Pacific Basin, Indonesia are subjected to regular earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
A massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake erupted off the coast of Sumatra in 2004 and caused a tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including roughly 170,000 people in Indonesia.
